Partner Appreciation Day
by Werecat Rei
Summary: A day in the mall leads to torture on multiple levels. And the planning of a party leaves many questions unanswered. Having to deal with clothes shopping, party stores, and being in a mall two hours before meeting his friends, can Soul handle it all?
1. Mall Blues

Okay, so this is just the beginning of this story. Consider it chapter 1.5 as the rest of it is unfinished at the moment. In simpler terms? Chapter one isn't fully completed and so here's part of it. What was going to be a two chapter story is now three. Or even possibly Four depending on how long this gets.

Yeah. Enough rambling.

A Soul Eater story! Why? Because I was tempted to see how well I could do slight romance. Yes. Slight. Nothing like 'OMG! Sex in the kitchen!' or 'Let's slop each other's faces like Labradors!' romance. No. SLIGHT romance.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Soul Eater. ... Or do I? *checks legal papers* Nope. Guess not.

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Why had he agreed with this? What in his mind has possessed him to go along with this plan? Soul sighed, shoving his hands deeper into his hoodie pockets, the slouch he always carried deepening ever so slightly as he trailed along behind Maka, his tan haired meister, as she roamed through the halls of what could only be the teenager hang out from hell. At least, for anyone who wanted to keep his or her sanity. On the other hand, it was the perfect place to pick up the latest rumors. Yes, rumors. Not gossip. A cool guy like him never gossiped.

Indeed, they were at the mall. The torturous two-story place from hell for any guy on a shopping date with his girlfriend. Not like _he_ was! Oh no! God _forbid_ he be on a date with Maka! The reason he had even considered coming here in the first place was because of what he had been told before hand.

Why were they here, then? He had been told they were going to meet everyone else, but that wasn't for another two hours. There was only one explanation for this and there was no way he was willing to admit it at the moment. Had she really done this to him? Had Maka really done the one thing no cool guy ever did?

When he saw where she paused, he knew his hunch was correct. They were _clothes_ shopping. Clothes. Shopping. Soul had half a mind to leave her, to just slink off in the direction of the nearest game store, but that would mean a Maka Chop to the head and that was the last thing he wanted. Were they even going to meet the gang like he had been told? Or was that all a lie?

"Soul! Hurry up!" she called out from the entrance to a store, looking slightly irritated that he had fallen behind.

Could she really blame him? Could she? Reluctantly, he slunk his way into the store, barely giving it a look over in the process. Well, at least there was a section of guys clothing he could hide in until they were leaving to head over to the next store. Ignoring the overly cheery hello from the overly preppy cashier, he split from Maka, making his way to the hoodies and jackets. You never know, he might find something here worthwhile.

However, after a mere five minutes of shifting through the minimal selection of guys clothes, it was apparent that the store catered to more of the female gender. The guys section was probably only in there for the guys who got dragged along. And, sadly, Maka wasn't even close to finished. It looked as if she had just started! With a groan he slunk back over to her, leaning against a part of the wall that wasn't covered in accessories.

"I thought we were going to meet everyone at 1," Soul questioned, watching her shift through a rack of shirts.

Maka didn't even glance up at her white haired partner. "We are."

"Then what are we doing here?"

"Kid's planning another party and I need something to wear." Here, Maka ditched the circular line of clothes any five year old and Black Star would kill to play in, making her way to another that Soul swore held the exact same clothes as the previous one.

Again, he followed. "Don't you already have dresses and shirts you can wear?" His mind ran through the parties Kid had managed to throw. Yep. She always had something. So why were they shopping again?

"None of those work for the theme of it."

Oh great. They were going to spend two hours, _two hours_, looking for one outfit for the stupid party. Soul rolled his eyes, tempted now more than ever to leave for the video game store. Or to see if he could track down someone he knew.

"I'm going to try this on. Don't do anything stupid."

What had she-? Soul watched, mouth slightly agape, as Maka trudged over to the fitting rooms. It wasn't him that always got in trouble! Great. This was going to be just great. She was dragging him along on her clothes run and he was being treated like a little kid. He shifted position only to see the fitting rooms better. The quicker she got out the quicker they could leave.

And things were just getting better (you can practically _feel_ the sarcasm there)! Here came preppy cashier lady. "Can I help you find anything?" she asked in that obvious fake cheerfulness. Heck, everything about the lady just screamed fake and plastic surgery. It was what made Soul decide he was never working in a department store. How much was she even getting paid to fake it? Obviously not much.

"I'm just waiting for a friend," came his reply, eyes glancing at the changing rooms. He had answered her question; she could leave now, to go back to that dark deep pit behind the counter to wait to cheerfully thank them for coming. A slight pause. Why wasn't she leaving?!

Arms snaked their way around his waist. Thank God she hadn't pinned his arms to his side, he would have been screwed. Soul put his weight on one leg, leaning away from the overly perfumed cashier. "That boring girl? You'd have more fun with me," purred unnamed girl number 1.

Ignoring her would have been the right choice, the usual way he would have gotten out of this. And Soul couldn't exactly barge in on Maka when she was changing. That would be bad. Bad and he would end up dead. Besides, wasn't there something against this in the employee handbook? Sexual harassment of customers or something like that? Another look was cast at the changing rooms. What was with girls and taking forever to see if some shirt makes them look fat or not?! His coolness was on the line here!

Maka took that exact time to come out of the fitting room, spotting Soul and overly preppy cashier lady. She paused, Soul paused, and the cashier gave her a cattish smirk.

"Maka, it's not what you-!" He never got to finish. Maka stormed over, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the store, leaving the smirking female worker behind. She didn't stop walking until they had reached an intersection of halls, the one place you did not want to stop in a busy place. Soul opened his mouth to state his innocence, but Maka looked more distracted than she did pissed. "What?"

"Nothing." She dropped his hand, glancing over a directory.

Nothing meant there was something. Soul sighed, but dropped the subject. It would get him nowhere to argue with her. Once Maka made up her mind there was little to change it. This meant more torture for him in the land of female clothing. He turned his back to her, scanning the crowds while she looked over the store directory. Wherever they were headed next he could bet it wasn't going to be fun for him.

Her hand closed around his arm, dragging him off once again to where ever they were headed next. Escalator. Great. Maka looked happy, though, which was good. A possibly pissed off Maka was never a fun Maka. Soul stood on the moving step, looking down at the slowly growing smaller people. It was only a two-story mall, but it was still plenty big enough. How much more walking were they going to do? Soul nearly tripped as Maka tore him off the escalator before he had completely reached the top. What had gotten her in such a hurry?

Soul matched his pace with Maka's so he wasn't stumbling every step of the way. They weaved through the groups of gathered friends making their way through the halls. Where the heck were they going? He was sure he recognized the path they were taking. The glowing neon sign hanging above the entrance to a store made him realize why it seemed all too familiar. It was his favorite store, the one where he got most of his jackets. There was no way they were heading there. He was kidding himself in thinking that was where Maka was taking him.

However, that was indeed where they were headed. Had she developed some sympathy for him? Had she finally put his sanity before her clothes shopping? This was the greatest moment in his life! "Maka!" choked out the white haired teen.

If she heard, she didn't show it, pulling him along into the store. Maka didn't stop there. Oh no. She proceeded to drag Soul right over to the hoodies and T-shirts, only letting go of his arm when she began shifting through the racks of clothes. What was his meister doing now? Soul hesitated for a moment by her side, wondering for her own sanity before doing his own jacket hunting. He was going to take every golden minute she gave him to look for something of his own, even if technically he didn't need anything.

The weapon scanned the racks of jackets; looking for the colors he liked best. Of course, if it wasn't a cool jacket, it wasn't worth getting, and every little detail would be taken into account before it would be considered. Yes, it might be hypocritical for him to think such a thing while complaining about Maka and her take-two-hours-to-find-a-shirt ways, but he wasn't worried about trying things on or making sure it looked right on him. As long as it looked cool from the hanger, all was good.

And that's exactly what he did. Soul just skimmed through the different colored and styled hoodies, every now and then casting glances in Maka's direction to make sure she hadn't left. There would be no finding her if she did. From what he saw, it looked as if she was grabbing random piles of clothing off the shelves. What had gotten into her?

He sighed, shrugging it off. Whatever it was, Maka could deal with it. Soul was sure. He went back to his searching.

And that was mistake number 2, if you want to be technical. For when Soul took his eyes off of Maka, that's when she attacked. For the third time that day he was ripped away from whatever was at hand and tossed into something else completely. Said something else turning out to be the fitting rooms located in the back of the store.

(AN: I could stop here…..stop here and make you ALL think DIRTY PERVERTED THOUGHTS about what Maka did to Soul, but that would be mean. XD And very hilarious.)

His back hit the mirror strategically placed against the back wall with a thud and the foot wide bench that all dressing rooms had for no apparent reason dug into the back of his legs. What was with her? "Maka!" he started to protest. But, of course, Soul was destined to never get more than that out of his mouth, clothes being tossed and hitting him right in the face.

(AN: AGAIN I could stop here and make you think dirty perverted thoughts that would give me many lols, but I'm not that mean. Not that mean to make characters OOC I mean. Hopefully.)

Reflex made him catch the assortment of fabrics as they fell towards the floor, a glare sent at the girl blocking the only exit out of the small square room. "What the hell, Maka!" came the growled words. What was she planning _now_? Soul wanted to end the little mall trip right now, and he could, take his bike and just leave Maka here, but that wasn't cool.

She didn't notice his inner battle of to leave her there or not. "Put those on," Maka ordered, shutting the automatically locking door and leaving Soul alone in the small space. "And don't even try to get out of this, Soul!"

He looked down at the clothes in his arms. One color stood out above the rest: a bright hot pink shirt. Hot… pink. Yes, Soul knew mistake number 1 was even agreeing to come in the first place, but he wasn't going to leave Maka alone in a mall where the wolves roamed. Sure, she could take care of herself, he knew all too well that she could, but his conscious (damn the thing) wouldn't let him let her come alone.

Soul would get her back for this. He would. "Who does she think she is ordering me around like that?" he mumbled to himself while dumping the merchandise on the short bench thing. "Maybe if she wasn't so small she could get a boyfriend and leave me the hell out of her shopping plans." If he wasn't frustrated already, the thought of Maka with another guy sure made sure he was.

"If you don't like it then why did you come?" came the angered voice of Maka from beyond the door.

Oh crap. There really was no way to get out of this. He didn't answer her question, just stripped down to his boxers. The pile of new clothes was given a look, Soul hesitating to even touch the pink shirt. Sadly, he had no choice. While he was physically stronger than Maka and could, more than likely, force his way out of the changing room, the consequences for such a thing would be high.

The shirt was slipped on over his scrawny frame, followed by the black denim jeans with a- he shuddered- rainbow belt. He paused here, looking at the one thing he had left to put on, and shifting uncomfortably in the tight pants. A thin dark gray hoodie with a lighter checkered pattern stared back at him. Well, not so much stared at sat there and taunted him. Yes, it taunted him. Soul glanced at the closed door separating him from his freedom before picking up the one thing left he had to put on. It was too restricting compared to what he usually wore, tight around his arms. There was absolutely no way he was zipping it up.

With obvious reluctance, even if no one could see, Soul opened the door to a waiting Maka. He scowled, leaning against the outside wall of his former cage of doom, shoving his hands down into the hoodie pockets. Worst of all was the pockets were barely even deep! He waited with slight impatience, as she looked him up and down before shoving more clothes into his arms and pushing him back into the small square fitting room.

"Wait! Maka!" Soul growled, digging his feet into the carpet. He succeeded in slowing down the rate at which he neared the mirror at the back and the bruise inducing short bench.

"You need something for the party too. Now try those on."

So _that_ was her reasoning behind this torture? What the heck was the theme anyway? He hadn't been told anything past that there was going to be a party at Kid's place tonight and Kid needed help in setting everything up.

He was glad to be getting out of the tight pants and checkered patterned hoodie, as well as that bright pink shirt, but he wasn't exactly looking forward to the other outfits Maka was pushing on him. Soul pushed the pile of his clothes over to one side of the little bench, dropping the new pile, staring at it for a moment. Did he really want to continue with this? Did he? A glance was tossed at the direction of the closed and locked door. He could always toss his clothes on and make a break for it. Soul sighed, running a hand through his hair. He couldn't do that. Not to Maka.

So, once again he was forced into his boxers to try on the other clothes. All were dark hued, save for a red that stood out. Why? Why was she torturing him so? At least this time there wasn't a belt. Soul gingerly picked up the red hued item, looking at the shirt. It was all that red color except for what looked like blood splatters. What in Maka's mind possessed her to think that this was him?

"Hurry up, Soul! There are still other things we have to get!"

"You're the one that keeps tossing things at me," grumbled the teen, pulling the shirt on. It fell loosely around his body. There wasn't a moment's hesitation as he snatched up the only other thing left to pull on: the pants. It felt heavy, and rather thick material, and, of course, black in color. All the pockets gave it a cargo look. He sighed once more, yanking those on and nearly tripping in the process.

Why was he putting up with this again? Oh yeah. Because this was better than being mauled by a Maka Chop and sexually harassed by the cat. Not like that preppy cashier lady had been any better than Blair. Soul shifted all his weight to one leg, ready to go parade himself in the clothing choice of his meister. How long had they even been in here already? It had to be more than twenty minutes. It sure felt like it. Soul brought a hand up, scratching at the back of his neck. He would have to draw the line before she started bringing him women's clothing.

Something fell on his head, obscuring his vision a good portion as a dark material blocked his line of sight, not to mention creating a very strange feeling on the top of his head. "Put that on too," came Maka's voice from beyond the door.

He pulled the hoodie off of his head, moving the headband positioned over his hair and creating a very odd static electric feeling. Soul could hear the sparks crackle as he ran a hand through his hair, fixing the headband before he even gave what his meister had tossed at him a second look. It was black and thankfully not as small looking as the one she had forced him into before. Arms slipped into the sleeves, the hood being adjusted slightly. Yes! He could actually zip this one up without having to suffocate himself! The weapon placed his hands in the pockets, having to keep himself from crying in joy. Sweet deep, deep pockets! He didn't care what Maka said, he was getting this hoodie.

Soul, in his usual slouch, stalked out of the small room once more and to face the tan haired girl. He ignored the looks he got from the other customers, as well as the employees who were getting a kick out of his little fashion show. "Well?"

She shoved more clothes into his arms, a smaller pile this time, but still more torture none the less. "Try these on and then you're done." Soul rolled his eyes, but if Maka saw she never showed. "And give me the hoodie." One hand was held out in front of him, her gaze just daring him to try to argue.

While his grades might not be the best thing in the world, Soul wasn't stupid enough to challenge Maka when she had her mind set on something. So, he shoved the small pile of fabric under one arm to make the job of getting the black hued jacket off that much easier. He dropped it out into her open hand, grumbling all the while he made his way back into the fitting room. If anyone from school found out about this his reputation was ruined. Cool guys didn't take orders. And yet, cool guys didn't leave their meister to fend for themselves in a mall. He was stuck between the two. Damn, being cool was harder than anyone thought.

Taking the red shirt and cargo pants off, Soul was ready to get these clothes on quickly, show Maka, change back into his own, and head on out of the store before someone pulled out a camera. That was the last thing he needed. Red eyes glancing down, he saw that the small bench was filling up with the piles of clothes he had been forced to wear. The checkered pattern jacket, the tight jeans, the cargos, and the blood splattered shirt. All were scattered over the two foot width.

This time, the clothes were a lot better. A basic black tank top that wasn't too loose or too tight, just hanging off of his shoulders and some dark blue hued jeans, fitting as well as the pants he normally wore. Well at least it had gone from worse to better. All the shirts that had gone on and come off were seriously messing with his hair, though. Half heartedly to get the loose strands under control, he left the fitting room for the third time that day.

Maka looked him up and down, taking a moment to think. Well the longer she took the more time the others around them had to find cameras and notify other friends. Oh, she better believe he was going to get something for doing this. A good salmon dinner, perhaps? He barely heard her when she said that that outfit was what they were getting; too busy thinking about what he was going to get out of this. Soul did, however, hear her when she said to put his clothes on and did so in record time. The other two piles were left to fend for themselves on the bench as he left the small space for what was, hopefully, the last time. Oh it felt good to be back in his clothes: that black jacket and yellow-orange shirt, not to mention the brown colored pants.

He dumped the shirt and jeans into her care, going to wait at the entrance to the store. The farther he was away from the back of the store and the changing rooms from hell the least likely he was to end up back in there. His hands subconsciously placed themselves in the pockets of his jacket, eyes watching as she went through the process of checking out. And, of course, the guy at the counter took his sweet time in ringing up the total. Soul could have sworn he saw the guy doing more than just looking at the price of his new clothes, and had to keep his anger in check. Why any guy would look at Maka like that was beyond him! He snorted in irritation, ripping his gaze from the two and looking at the passing groups of friends in the mall hallways.

It was in a short while that Maka decided to join him in the entrance, bag dangling from her wrist. "What was that about?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Was what about?" She didn't even seem to notice, proceeding out of the store and on her way to wherever they were headed next. Probably more clothes shopping.

An exasperated sigh left him. "Never mind." He was annoyed that she just brush it off as nothing. Was that revenge for the cashier lady attacking him earlier? It wasn't like he had asked her to do that! So why was Maka taking it out on him?! It was just like with what happened with Blair at home. Guess he shouldn't be surprised that she'd act that way, but it still bugged him to see that guy look at her like that.

"Where to now?"

"Kid asked if we could pick some stuff up for the party."

Oh great. Just what he needed. Another place to be dragged to. Well, at least it wasn't clothes shopping anymore. Had Maka given up on trying to find something? Soul hoped so. Part of him wanted to know what they would be searching for. Knowing Kid, he wouldn't take anything that wasn't symmetrical. And that would pose a problem when trying to find things. So why had Maka agreed? Probably to be nice.

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WOOOOOOOW! I didn't realize how long this single part was! There was only a little bit past this that was done! But instead of leaving you guys off at some really awkward place that made no sense, here's chapter one! ENJOY

Oh, and R and R please. I want to see how good I made this. Or not good. ONLY CREATIVE CRITZ PLEASE! No flames.


	2. The Star and His Big Mouth

Chapter 2! And the continuation of the previous chapter. So, this is like Chapter .6. Yeah. My math was off in the header of the last chapter. Why .6? Because this is in no way where I wanted to originally end the first chapter. Yes. It is long.

Still no kitchen sex! But there is burger and pizza murder. So if you're vegetarian, I apologize for the cow that died to make this chapter possible.

And I dedicate this chapter to mah friend Miki! Whom, without her encouragement, this chapter would not have been possible. As it would not have been finished.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Soul Eater.

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She led him, bag still dangling from her wrist, to another end of the two-story mall. How long did they have left until he could slink to the side of his other friends and get help with the torture he was being out through? Soul stole a glance around, trying to find a clock to get a basic understanding of what time it was. Dammit. Why did malls never have any clocks when you needed them?

"Soul!" He jumped out of his thoughts at the call, halting in the walking motion and turning his gaze down one isle. "This way." Maka nicely waited for him to catch up before starting back through the maze of halls. At least she looked like she was enjoying this day out. And that caused a small smile to cross his face.

Down past book stores, game stores, and even clothing stores- in which the pace was slowed and window shopping took place- the two went, Maka leading Soul every step of the way since he had been told little of their actual reason for being here two hours early. No attention was paid to the many stores they passed by. The sooner they got to wherever they were going the quicker this could end and he could get home to lie on the couch.

And with a feeling of dread that this would be just as much torture as the last, Soul entered the party store behind Maka. She smiled at the cashier that greeted them, earning a roll of ruby colored eyes in response. _'Please make this quick!'_ echoed the mental prayer in his head. The bright green of St. Patrick's Day assaulted him from the moment he set foot in the little store, seeming to make the entire place look a light grassy color. Why did it have to be him?! Why couldn't she have dragged Tsubaki with or Liz even! Girls liked to shop, right? A longing glance was shot at the game store across the hall.

If only Maka could catch the subtle hints, the little sighs every now and then from him, the slower than usual pace. Maybe, just maybe if she paid a shred of attention to him instead of the inanimate objects they were here to buy, he might be able to leave, to return to sanity. Of course, it wasn't going to turn out that way. Nothing was ever that easy for him.

So, he was doomed to spend what felt like hours in the store, being Maka's bagboy, a cart with legs! Napkins, plates, cups, everything a basic household needed (only in the paper and plastic variety) was piled into his arms. Thank God for the check out. Soul had never seen such a total amount in his life. Well, maybe he had before. Now, the bag count came. Maka helped here, taking a few bags and leaving the rest for him. Oh his wrists hurt just thinking about how long he would have to tote around the bags of items.

No wrist was spared the horror. Soul was constantly adjusting the way the plastic rubbed on his skin, and the twisting and turning of the bags only made things ten times harder. His feet ached, his arms threatened to fall off. He was in a dire need of a break. That nicely placed bench in front of the glass panes that allowed shoppers to overlook the first floor worked well! And slinking along behind Maka gave him an opportunity to make his way over to the seat and settled down before she even noticed. Maka may be ruthless, but she wasn't mean enough to deny him a break when he needed it.

He plopped down onto the hard wooden bench, the bags piling up in between his feet. Soul rubbed a sore wrist. "Maka, let's take a break," he voiced to the girl looking at him.

For a minute there, she looked like she would have liked to object, puffing out her cheeks in that way she did when she was irritated. However, thankfully, she didn't say a word against it, looking past Soul at something behind him. A store, probably. Either way, Maka walked over to him, dropping the bags she carried (minus the one from his favorite store). "Then you wait here. I'll be in the store behind you." Before he could argue she added a quick, "It won't take long." Sure it wouldn't. How many times had he heard that this morning?

"Thanks, Soul!" Maka smiled, bounding off to do whatever it was she was going to do.

"Yeah."

Soul sank down deeper into the bench, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. Well he would have a good half an hour to sit here and do nothing. The bad thing was, the less you had to do the more time seemed to drag on. He tilted his head back, looking up at the panes of glass allowing light to flow into the building. What had Maka gone to do anyway? Shopping for clothes had only been a guess that came to mind. He tilted his head back more, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse at the brightly colored sign that hung above every store.

"Hey, Soul."

Upon hearing his name being called by a familiar voice, Soul lifted his head, finding the two people he expected to see here the most. Kim and Jackie were looking down at him, surprise clearly visible on their faces at seeing him here. Alone. With shopping bags. Oh he could feel the amusement coming off them at the possibility that he had gone shopping alone for party things. Like hell if he did! Games and jackets, yes. Those were things he would buy. But never would he be caught dead with anything else unless he was shopping with Maka. "Is Maka with you?"

The weapon straightened up, or as much as he wanted to, Soul caught sight of Ox and Harvar behind the two girls, bags and boxes in ox's arms. Looks like Kim was having a rather fun time taking advantage of Ox's feelings for her. And behind those two were Kilik with Fire and Thunder, the two twins licking bright colorful lollipops. Soul sighed, dragging one hand out of its safety in the jacket pocket, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the store behind him. "She's in there."

Oh he could see the two girl's disappointment at him not being there alone. No gossip for them. Thank God. He didn't need whatever reputation he had built up being destroyed. That wasn't cool. So when Kim and Jackie started whispering something to each other, smiles crossing their faces, Soul felt a jolt of suspicion flow through him. Though, they just thanked him, heading to the store he had pointed out. Oh great. With them there it would take ten times as long!

"Wait up, Kim!" Ox shouted out, trailing after the two.

Harvar sighed, following after his meister. Poor Harvar. How much torture had he been put though today? Soul watched them go before looking back over at Kilik, who had taken a seat on the bench next to him, Fire and Thunder sitting down on the ground next to their meister to finish eating the sugary treat. "You're not going with them?" Soul questioned Kilik.

"Nah. It'll get too crowded in there."

He had a point. And a silence descended upon the small group of four. Soul was fine with that. He never had a best friend relationship with Kilik as he, somehow, did with Black Star. God only knows how much time passed in which they were sitting there listening to the two small ones licking the lollipops.

It was Kim's voice that called out to him. "Soul! Come here for a second!" Oh great. What was he needed for now? "Hurry up! Kilik can watch the bags! Just get over here!"

"Good luck, man," Kilik voiced with a small laugh.

Standing, Soul sighed, making his way past Kilik and his weapons, giving the meister a small high five as he passed. "Thanks." He would need all the luck he could get if Kim was the one calling him into that store. And now that he was off the bench and could see without all the blood rushing to his head, Soul had cleverly found out that the store was indeed a clothing store. A female clothing store. With dresses, and skirts, and tight shirts, and what was Maka even doing in there?! As he neared it, Kim and Jackie both came to meet him, grabbing either of his arms. There was no escape. And Soul mentally cursed himself for even getting out of bed this morning.

Being dragged through the very girly store, Soul couldn't help but feel that this had been one entire bad idea. Firstly, there was no sign of Ox or Harvar or the many bags Ox had been carrying. Second, both Kim and Jackie were smiling while dragging him through the store and that was never good. Third, Maka was nowhere to be seen. Oh God, what had they done to his meister?

He was soon to find out just what horror and mind-blowing shock Maka had been put through.

Or lack of.

Kim knocked on a fitting room door he hadn't seen until now. Soul visibly paled. Oh no. Not more fitting rooms. There was no way he was going in that! And to prove it, he dug his feet into the carpeted floors, refusing to budge another _inch_ if it meant going anywhere near that small space. If Maka could torture him that much in one of his favorite stores, just think about what she could do here with Kim and Jackie on her side. But, Soul didn't have to worry. Kim had rapped on the door to get the attention of someone. A certain someone.

Maka walked out of that dressing room looking like she'd rather be anywhere else but standing where she was right in front of him. The only problem was the other two girls had sealed off all escape routes. Maka had ditched her own clothes for a rather plain looking tight light blue shirt and tight jeans, just showing off part of her midriff, but it wasn't just that. Kim, somehow, had talked Maka into putting her hair back in one pony tail, leaving some strands to frame his meister's face. Together with the black choker she had chosen to wear today, it made for an interesting combination. A combination that left Soul standing there speechless. Well, standing there blinking at Maka.

It didn't exactly go over well with Maka. "Well?" she huffed, seeing his hesitation.

When Soul didn't seem to hear her, Kim socked him in the arm. Sending the shorter female a small glare and massaging the sore spot on his arm, Soul finally tried to say something intelligent to Maka. Keyword there is try. "You look…." He couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't get in trouble. If he said she looked like a girl now, Maka Chop to the head. If he made fun of her, Maka Chop to the head. If he said nothing, it would lead to a Maka Chop to the head.

He was screwed either way.

"Kay! Thanks, Soul!" Kim shouted, distracting both meister and weapon from the small conversation at hand. She steered him away from Maka and the back of the store to the front again, barring his way back into the store. "Jackie!" she hollered back, "Get the other one!" There was a moment of a pause. "And let Ox out of the other fitting room!"

Well it wasn't like he wanted to go back in there anyway. Watching Kim retreat back into the store with a glance over his shoulder, Soul made his own way back to the bench. Fire and Lightning had taken over his place, sticky and covered in a brightly colored mess. Brushing off Kilik's apology, Soul instead chose to lean against the metal guard rail, hands back in his jacket pockets. Why they had him go in there just to see Maka in that dress was beyond him.

"Soul, you're face is red," the male meister stated with a small smirk.

There was a moment of silence. Was his face really red? From what, though? He wasn't cold. He didn't feel hot. This left one option he refused to believe in. And when one is caught in a conversation corner, you change the subject! "Going to Kid's party?"

That was the lamest attempt at a change in conversation ever. Even so, Kilik nodded, leaning back in the bench. "Kim and Jackie are making everyone go. How about you and Maka?"

Soul returned the nod. "Yeah."

"Come on, Kilik! We still have some shopping to do!" Jackie's voice echoed over the buzz of everyone else in the halls.

"See ya, man."

At least that signaled the end of store torture number 3. When the group of seven left, Soul knew it was a matter of time before Maka came to join him by the bench. And if the horrible amount of time that passed told him correctly, that meant soon it would be time to go meet everyone else. This, hopefully, meant no more time spent here.

Maka came out to get him, another bag hanging from her wrist and her face looking just a bit flustered. The glare she gave him kept Soul from making a smart comment. "Don't say a word," she hissed.

He decided to play it cool, picking up his share of the party bags. "About what?" Soul waited for Maka to take the lead. She was the one who knew where they were going, after all. The bags pulled down on his wrists, rubbing them red with friction. This was going to get painful real quickly. "Where are we meeting them?"His gaze turned upon his meister, that ever bored look present. Soul didn't know what he would do if they weren't going to meet the others now. He couldn't deal with another store. It just wasn't cool. Not at all.

She looked a bit taken aback that he hadn't said anything to the color her face had decided to turn, blinking at her friend and weapon for a moment. "Um. Kid said to meet them at the food court."

Typical. He could have guessed that was where they would be meeting. Though, Soul couldn't say he disappointed. After waking up earlier than he had intended, and getting a light breakfast (Maka had wanted to get here before the big rush), he was indeed hungry. The growling that came from his gut told everyone within a certain range of hearing that exact fact. Maka smiled, not even trying to hold back a laugh at his pain. And even though there was God only knows how many bags covering his wrists, she grabbed his arm, pulling him in the direction of the food court. "Come on, Soul."

Like he had a choice? Still, the mixture of scents coming from the food court was making his mouth water. Burgers, pizza, fries! Even that Chinese place that never had a lot of business. All of it just smelt so good!

Maka let go of his arm as they neared the outer tables of the place of food glory, trotting ahead of him to greet the gathering of their friends. Two of the small tables had been pushed together to allow for enough room, bags scattered about. Liz looked rather happy with herself, chatting to Tsubaki about a new nail polish color she had found at a store and the many different outfits she had managed to but that fit Kid's symmetrical standards. Patty was busying herself with a coloring book, scribbling down random crayon colors on the pages. Black Star looked rather bored, brightening up the moment he caught sight of his best friend.

Kid nodded towards the two, giving them a small smile. "Soul, Ma-."

"Heey, Soouull!" Black Star called out, cutting Kid off, waving a hand high in the air and nearly standing on the table. The only thing that stopped the short ninja assassin was the presence of Tsubaki almost literally holding him back.

Soul immediately went over to the empty seat next to his friend, dropping the bags next to it. Freedom! "I'm getting something to eat. Maka, do you want anything?"

She took a seat next to Tsubaki, looking up at Soul at his question and taking a moment to think. "Pepperoni pizza."

And when he turned to head to join in the lines of hungry shoppers, Black Star jumped up, following Soul with his hands behind his head and a rather sly grin across his face.

"What?" Soul questioned as soon as he got in line for some greasy burgers. It was never a good sign when Black Star smirked. It always lead to some sort of trouble. Slightly hilarious and fun trouble, but still trouble. Keeping one eye on the line and the other half of his attention on the blue haired meister, Soul waited for an answer. But by the way Black Star's smirk grew and he took a pause before answering, Soul wasn't going to like it one bit.

Black Star raised a finger to point at his friend, not bothering to cover up the snickers leaving him. "You're face is beet red!"

Oh no. No. It couldn't be possible. No way in a million years could it be possible. Never. He refused to believe it! So, Soul scoffed at his friend, turning his full attention back at the line of people in front of him. "Yeah. Right."

"No, really! You look like a tomato! Did something happen with Maka?" There was a pause. "Soul likes Maka!"

Just the way Black Star chose to voice that little sentence made Soul snap back around, letting you a bark of, "What?! NO!!" that got the attention of those around the two. He lowered his voice to a hiss. "What the hell would make you even _think_ that?" Oh, as if he didn't already know. Was someone's cheeks turning the color of an apple really the universal sign that something had gone on between two people? Well, according to Black Star's thought process, it did.

Soul rolled his eyes, deciding not to get into an argument with his friend when he was this hungry. It would only lead to a disaster and payments to the mall. Payments he wouldn't be able to afford. And, by some form of twisted luck, Black Star kept his mouth shut. It was a good thing for the ninja assassin that he had made that choice. After dealing with Maka's clothes torture, Soul didn't know how much more he could take before he snapped. And it would not have been pretty.

Moving up in the slowly moving line, Soul took a glance at the menu hanging above his head. He already knew what he wanted, but it never hurt to check, make sure that they hadn't changed anything since the last time he had visited the mall. And like he had guessed, it hadn't. Great. Made his job as a consumer so much easier. "Black Star, did you and Tsubaki do some shopping?" There was no way all the different bags around the table belonged to Kid and the two sisters.

Black Star tore his eyes away from the brightly colored menu. "A bit. Why? Did you get something for Maka yet?"

Why was the dork bringing this up again? Nothing had gone on between him and Maka! Nothing out of the ordinary anyway if you didn't count the entire dress fiasco. Soul would rather not being that up with the loudmouth. While Black Star was his friend, that was something he didn't want spread around the school. "Why would I get something for Maka?"

"You haven't? She's going to be pissed if you don't!"

What he hell did he mean by that? Why would Maka be waiting for something he gave her? It made absolutely no sense. None at all. What type of game could Black Star be playing at? What could he possibly gain by confusing and messing with him? "What are you saying, Black Star?"

The meister's green eyes blinked in confusion. Confusion over what?! Was there something going around that he hadn't heard? If so, why hadn't he heard? Surely Maka would have told him! It wouldn't be like her to withhold information like that. Not unless it was something she didn't think he needed to know. Even so, this seemed like something important. If Black Star knew what it was, it had to be. It wasn't her birthday. He knew that. So why? Why would she be expecting something from him?

With this thought bothering him, Soul walked to the counter, ordering his combo meal. Could he eat knowing that he could be in deep trouble? After his stomach let out another rumble, the fires looked good. It took a short while, but his order was completed and sitting on a tray ready to be brought over to the table. Picking it up, and leaving Black Star to wait, Soul made his way to the pizza place.

"Where are you going, Soul?" he heard Black Star ask.

"To get Maka's pizza."

Had the blue haired kid already forgotten what she had asked to eat? Probably. If it didn't involve him or fighting Black Star didn't pay attention to it. What a simple way to live.

Joining the line for pizza, the scent of different meats and cheeses assaulted his nose. The pizza smelt much better than his burgers now. Though that could be the hunger talking. Thankfully the line was short, more people wanting the greasy burgers or foreign food than the pizza. He ordered Maka her slice of pepperoni, paying the man and getting it quicker than he thought he would. With the tray full he headed back to the group.

Black Star had beaten him back, already digging into his food with vigor. Used to this type of behavior from his friend, Soul took a seat, passing the pepperoni laden slice of pizza to his meister. It was accepted with a small word of thanks. And with that, he picked at his food, what Black Star had said earlier still on his mind. Why would Maka want something from him unless there was a reason? It wasn't a holiday, not her birthday, then what?

"Kid, we're still having a punk themed party at your house, right?" Tsubaki questioned.

And Soul choked on the bite of burger in his mouth. Punk themed?! Was that why Maka had handed him all those clothes?! He couldn't believe it. Who in their right mind had suggested punk?! It wasn't right. Not at all.

"Are you alright, Soul?" asked the shinigami.

Managing to dislodge the piece of food with a quick gulp of the Coke, Soul nodded. "Yeah. Fine. Punk?"

Looking quite proud of himself, Kid nodded. "Yes. Punk. It's the theme for the Partner Appreciation Day party at my house tonight."

What was that last part? Partner… Appreciation Day? How many things had he been left in the dark about? The gift for Maka, the punk theme, and now this! Nothing seemed to be going well for him today. And the smirk Liz was tossing at him didn't help. What was she smirking about anyway? He had barely said a word to her. Unless… If Black Star had said a single WORD to Liz about his flustered face… well it would be simpler to say the ninja didn't know the meaning of the word pain yet. Casting a small glare at Black Star, he busied himself with finishing off the fires. He would ask his friend about it later. After he was out of earshot of Maka and the other girls. God help him if it spread around school.

"Tsubaki, what are you going to wear?" Maka looked over at the taller girl as she asked her question. Liz tore her attention away from Soul and at Tsubaki. If it related to fashion, Liz was there.

With a sigh of relief that the older sister's attention was off of him now, Soul half listened to the conversation at hand. It was mainly the girls conversing back and forth anyway.

Resting one elbow on the table, Soul stared at the half eaten burgers and fries. The question about the gift and Maka being angry about it must really be getting to him. Though he didn't get why. She had been mad at him before, and for the stupidest reasons! So why should now be any different? He sipped at the pop while the thought swam through his mind.

Liz bumped the table when she jumped up, an all too happy look on her features. Great. What was she planning now? A hostile takeover? "If Maka's done, let's get going, girls." Now she turned towards her meister. "Kid, you'll take care of the bags, right?"

"Sure."

Maka stood, dragging the two bags he wasn't allowed near up with her. "I'll take care of these two. Soul, make sure Black Star doesn't get into any trouble."

"You think he'll listen to me?"

Tsubaki gave him a pleading look. "Please, Soul?"

With a sigh, he fell back into the chair. "Fine." This was going to be a big issue already. Black Star never listened to anyone, let alone him. And after that earlier conversation, he knew he was in for an earful after the girls left. At least there would be some form of authority with Kid around. He hoped.

"Behave. We'll meet back up at Kid's house around 5." Maka set her empty plate on his tray, going over to stand next to the other girls. "Don't get into trouble, Soul." With a small wave, the girls went off to do whatever it was girls did.

He sunk lower into the chair, mumbling something under his breath. Like he was the one going to get in trouble. That was Black Star, not him.

Liz hung back though, coming up to him and shoving her face close to his, hissing under her breath, "Listen, Soul. You do anything to hurt her, and I will personally rearrange your face." As Kid cleared his throat she added, "Symmetrically."

Had Liz really just threatened him? And who was he going to hurt? "What are you talking about?"

Seemingly glad that her thread had worked, or slightly worked, Liz just ignored his question, heading back to the group of waiting females. Well this was great. Black Star had an untrue thought in his mind, Liz had just threatened him, and now he was stuck with two people having the wrong idea about him and Maka. Could this day get any worse?

"So, Soul," Black Star almost literally purred. Oh God. Not now. Don't let it be what he thought it was. "What happened between you and Maka?"

"Nothing happened!"

"Then why is your face all red again?" Cue the sly smirk. God Soul wanted so badly to just deck Black Star right in the face.

"It's not."

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Shut the hell up, Black Star!"

"So you admit it!"

"Do not!"

* * *

Dun dun duuun! XD

Will Soul figure out what Partner Appreciartion Day is? Will Black Star be tackled by Mall Security? Will Kid ever find perfect Symmetry?! Read on and wait for chapter 3 to find out.


	3. In Which A New Torture Is Found

Oh wow. Longest chapter yet! By almost an entire two pages! XD Pretty good for something that was done mostly late at night these past few days! All together, this story is almost 14k words long! 23 pages in OpenOffice. Which is roughly the same in Word. Hehe. It is a bit rushed in places, I'll warn you now, not to mention a bit of a spoiler if you haven't gotten to... chapter... 50.. something. 55. Yeah. 55.

So, anyway, Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Soul Eater, sadly.

* * *

It was a showdown, a battle of male pride if you will. Neither wanted to admit the other was right in any sense. Soul knew Black Star had no idea what he was talking about. Him? With Maka?! It was absurd! How anyone could picture that at all was beyond him. With an exasperated sigh, Soul ran a hand through his hair, cursing Black Star's name in every way he could. "Can someone tell me what Partner Appreciation Day is?"

Kid was the one who answered, thankfully. "Didn't Maka tell you? It's a day to show your partner you appreciate them. And what a better way than with a party and gifts."

"Gifts?"

"Didn't Maka tell you _anything_?" Black Star scoffed, like he couldn't believe any secret could be held between the two. "You can get your partner a gift. I'm giving Tsubaki my autograph!" And like the guy Black Star was he pulled one of his many autographs from God only knows where, holding it out for the other two to see, looking proud of himself.

Soul sighed again. "Idiot. Don't you think Tsubaki might like something _other_ than that?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. What do girls like?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, with a startling shout, Black Star grinned, earning a roll of the eyes from the weapon. "An autographed _photo_ of the Great Black Star!"

This time, Soul's palm met his face. "No, you dolt! Jeeze. Why not get her a necklace or something?"

"Why? My idea was better."

Giving up on trying to explain the workings of the female mind (as no guy got anywhere giving people autographs they didn't want), Soul instead turned his efforts for a decent conversation upon Death the Kid. The shinigami had busied himself with figuring out a good place to keep the bags while they did whatever it was they were going to do.

"Are you getting Liz and Patty anything?"

"Of course. And you?"

Another sigh. This day was getting complicated. "Looks like I'll have to get Maka something now." The question was what to get her? He didn't know of anything Maka might like to have besides more books. Girls were so picky over every little thing. It would be a miracle if he could find something for Maka that she actually liked.

Though, that led to another problem. If they were supposed watch the bags, how were they going to get what they needed? There was one issue after another. Soul had decided to dub this day the most annoying and uncool day he ever witnessed. The only good thing to look forward to was the end of the day and collapsing on his bed. Even then Blair was always right there to make sure he lost a good amount of blood first.

"Soul, Black Star, do the two of you have any quarters?"

"Heh?" Exchanging a confused look with Black Star, Soul slipped a hand into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. What did Kid want with quarters? Shifting through the random collection of coins he had, Soul had managed to find a good number of the large, circular, silver pieces. He held them out to Kid, watching as the black haired boy counted out an even number before turning to Black Star and his handful of coins. What the heck was Kid planning? "Why do you need quarters?"

Only one word was muttered, "Lockers."

When Kid had counted out how many quarters he had and figured out how many lockers he could afford, the three boys were left to haul the many bags and boxes to the rows of lockers by the food court. Very few people were actually putting anything into the lockers, leaving many spaces open. Luckily for them.

"Shove harder, Black Star!" growled out Soul.

"I am! It. Won't. Go. IN!"

Then you're obviously not trying hard enough!"

"Says you! I'm the one doing all of the work!"

Soul pushed his shoulder hard into a clump of bags, trying to get them into the small locker space while Black Star supposedly helped. This was getting completely ridiculous. "If you're so great then why are you having difficulties with this?!"

"That's it!" Soul moved out of the way of the lockers as Black Star took one step back. Well this would either end well or badly for them. And he watched as his friend so cleverly decided to punch the bag the rest of the way in. Needless to say, it didn't exactly work out.

"Good going, Black Star," Soul spoke sarcastically. At least nothing breakable had been in that bag.

Black Star huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "At least I did something."

_Yeah. Something completely useless._ Soul wished Black Star thought with more than his fists and stomach every now and then. Fishing his wallet back out of his pocket, Soul pulled out two more quarters. Taking one bag out of the locker they had been struggling with, he opened the green hued locker right next to it, putting that bag and two more into it before dropping the quarters into the slot, closing the door, and taking the little key. "Problem solved."

"Hmph. I could have done that."

That took care of the bags. Now he had time to worry about just what exactly he was going to get for Maka. Why couldn't she have dropped hints when they were tromping through the mall earlier? Soul pressed his back to the cold metal of the lockers, slamming the back of his head into one of the many doors. "What am I going to do?" he mumbled to himself. He couldn't get Maka just _anything_. It had to be the right thing. Like Kid had said, it was a day to show your partner you appreciate them. The wrong thing could mean a complete disaster.

"You could always wait until tonight, make her a candle lit dinner, a little mood music, one thing leads to another and then-!"

Soul roughly elbowed Black Star in the side, giving his so-called friend a glare. "Nothing is going on, Black Star! Drop it."

"If nothings going on, why are you so quick to defend yourself?" Rubbing the sore spot in his side, Black Star looked up at Soul.

"Wha-? But I'm-! There's nothing going on!"

A grin crossed the blue haired one's face. "You're face if turning red again!"

"It's not!" Soul took a swipe at Black Star, but the annoying one had bounded out of harms reach.

"Soul likes Maka! Soul likes Maka! Soul likes Maka!" He continued the chant, staying just out of Soul's reach.

"Shut up, Black Star!"

"Soul and Maka sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-!"

With a lunge, Soul had punched Black Star right in the jaw. It definitely shut him up. The two glared at each other. Black Star had crossed the line with that stupid song. That stupid song and his idiotic comments about something going on between Maka and him. Nothing was happening. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Sure, he had gotten upset when that other guy had obviously hit on her and she brushed it off like it was nothing, but that was natural, wasn't it? If she left him, he'd be without a meister, and that wasn't a good thing in the fight to become a Death Scythe. That had to be it. That was why. Not because he liked Maka. Not because he had more feelings for her than just a friend.

"You wanna fight?" growled Black Star, grabbing the front of Soul's shirt and putting his face close to his friend's. "I won't go easy on you, Soul."

"Try it." Yes. Black Star could kick his ass. But, in his defense, Soul couldn't use his soul wavelength. Besides, it was rare that the two actually started throwing punches at one another. Either way, Soul was tired of hearing Black Star spout his nonsense. At least about that topic.

Kid cleared his thought, standing between the two. "If the two of you are finished, let's get started."

With a huff Soul turned his back to Black Star, shoving his hands back into his jacket pockets. Stupid Black Star and his stupid comments. Why was he friends with that idiot again? Soul could have sworn he heard something mumbled under Black Star's breath. Something about... kitchen sex?! What the hell was going through the short one's head? More importantly, who was he referring to?!

Before he had a chance to confront the ninja assassin on the subject, Kid had a hand pressed in the middle of his back, pushing him forward. "Let's hurry up. We don't have much time left before we have to meet the girls at my house."

"We have 4 hours!"

"Yes, but someone has to give them a ride back home, which cuts a good hour or so out."

"It's not _that_ far of a walk, is it?" asked Black Star.

It got a rather strange look in response from both Soul and Kid. Wait... how had Black Star and Tsubaki gotten to the mall in the first place? Kid has his skateboard, and him his bike, so how? Unless... Oh god! The idiot didn't! Sadly, Soul knew what he thought was true. Black Star had walked, _walked_, to the mall that day. Only he would do something like that. "Whatever. We'll deal with that when the time comes. Where are we going to go first?" Soul had no intention of leaving the girls to find their own rides home from the mall. That was completely uncool. And he hated the idea that Maka get a ride with another guy.

After all she was his meister! And the way she would sit behind him on his motorcycle and wrap her arms around his waist and- _WHOA! No way! Stop there!_ Soul shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought that just ran through it. He did not just think that. No. There was no way it was him. He was letting what Black Star said get the better of him. Yeah. That was it. It was all Black Star's fault.

Once they got into the middle of a rather busy spot, Kid stopped pushing the two. "Alright. Where should we go first?"

"Huh?! I thought you knew," the weapon stated. He had no idea where to shop! It was rare that he go shopping in the mall with Maka, let alone pay attention to where she went and what she looked at. Like hell if Black Star paid attention to Tsubaki and her wants when they were out shopping. Kid seemed like the only one to really keep an eye out for what his two weapons wanted. If he didn't know where to go, then they were all screwed.

He sighed, something he seemed to be doing a lot of recently. "Why don't we start with the jewelry stores or clothes places? Girls like that stuff right?"

"I already know what I'm getting Tsubaki."

"No girl wants a picture of you staring them in the face each morning, Black Star."

"Says you!"

"It's a fact." Oh revenge was sweet. "Look, you're not giving her an autographed picture of you. Think of something else." Tsubaki owed him now. She was too nice to tell Black Star otherwise, but no one wanted the little runt's picture as a gift. That was just torture. Not to mention it was a good way to get back at Black Star for earlier.

Though, Black Star didn't look the least bit happy that Soul had ruined his idea. Oh no. Soul saw the meister glare at him, heard a snort, and watched as he put his hands behind his head and walk away from him and Kid. "Where do you think you're going? I told Maka I'd make sure you didn't get into trouble."

Black Star stopped walking. "It's always Maka this and Maka that. Your face turning red every time she's mentioned, so quick to defend her, having a _stroke_ when you found out you need to get her a gift! Just admit it! You like her! You like her so much, I bet 20 bucks you'd punch the first guy you saw hitting on her!" Here, he turned around fully, poking Soul in the chest and giving him a knowing Cheshire Cat grin.

Soul couldn't believe it. Since when did Black Star pay attention to anything? Let alone _his_ actions around Maka! Taking a breath to calm himself before something he would later regret did happen, Soul pushed Black Star's hand away from his chest. "You're thinking to much on it. There's nothing going on. We're not _doing_ anything. We're just two friends who also happen to-"

"Live in the same house?"

"..." This was getting nowhere. Black Star wouldn't listen to him no matter what he said. "I was _going_ to say 'who happen to be partners'."

"But mine makes so much more sense! And you ignored the bet!"

"Are you two coming?" Kid interrupted, looking behind him at the two arguing students.

At least there was one other sane person to talk to and ignore Black Star with. Granted, he might not get the desired conversation going with Kid. Soul was starting to miss having Maka around. Sure, guy time was great, and without the girls around they could practically do and say whatever, but that wasn't the case here. They were shopping for the girls, which was almost like having them here. Only with a lot more consequences.

((A/N: Did that paragraph make ANY sense at all?))

Ignoring Black Star and his muttering as best he could, Soul trailed after Kid to whatever store the shinigami had in mind. He couldn't let what Black Star get the better of him! Take things one at a time. Tackle it coolly. First things were first, getting the damn present. Maka already had books to no end and any she needed she could find at the library. He wouldn't know what to get her in terms of clothes, not to mention Maka wasn't the type for makeup. It wasn't like he could get a hold of Blair to ask her either. Looks like he was doing this on his own. And that left only one option he could think of: jewelry.

He knew nothing of necklaces and bracelets or earrings. So, how was he supposed to do this again? Where was a conveniently timed meeting when you needed one? Soul couldn't count on Black Star, he couldn't exactly rely on Kid for this. Would his male intuition be enough? Whose bright idea had it been to have a Partner Appreciation Day in the first place?!

"Hey, Kid, where are we going?" questioned the blue haired ninja, hands behind his head and looking truly bored with the entire thing.

Trailing around after one another was going to get them nowhere. Especially with Black Star's attention span. "Why don't we all just split up and meet at the sports shop on the first floor in an hour?" It sounded like a good idea from his point of view. This way he could shop for Maka without worrying about Black Star destroying something and he didn't have to wait for Kid to find something symmetrical for the two girls of his. So, without giving his choice of action a second thought, Soul gave the two a small wave and turned, walking off to the neared store directory. Start with the nearest stores and work his way around. That was the next step in the plan.

Malls had to have a variety of shops. Why? Well, competition in the industry of course. If you commanded the mall, you got business needed to keep the company going. So, there would be many stores to choose from to go on his little hunt. Soul kept that thought in mind as he neared the lit up list. It was a good thing they kept everything alphabetized. It made finding the list of jewelry stores easy to find. And find he did; find the long list of stores that was. How could any single mall have that many jewelry stores?!

This was going to be uncool and more of a pain than he originally thought. Why couldn't they ever make these things easy? He looked at the 'You are here' mark on the map and the list of numbered locations for the different stores. Whichever was closer was the first one he'd go to. Great. There was one right down the hall, actually close to where he was. That would be stop number one. Hopefully they had something that would work for Maka.

As he turned, making his way to the store, part of him wished he'd run into Kim and Jackie again. At least then he'd have a female opinion to go by. But, he was to have no such luck, making it to the fancy place without any sort of run in with anyone he knew. Crrraaaaaap.

A nicely dressed salesman was there to intercept him as he entered the store. The older and much fancier looking man gave him a criticizing look over. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing within your price range here."

Oh, how many times had he heard that in his lifetime? Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Soul maneuvered his way into the store. Not his price range. Everyone always said that before they knew exactly what his price range was. Soul wanted no part in actually spending the amount of money he might have to, but then again, all the good stuff was expensive. One of the good aspects to having a rich family. And today was one day he was eternally grateful for his brother and the supply of money coming in. It was one of the reasons why he and Maka didn't need jobs to pay for what they had. "I'm here on behalf of the Evans family." Oh God he hoped no one he knew walked by to see him acting all stuck up and uncool.

"Evans? Well that changes everything. Please. Right this way."

Of course. Any self respecting rich person would listen to his family's music. Now officially rolling his eyes, as this entire thing was going to get old quickly, Soul trailed after the man to the glass display cases. The sooner he got out of here the better.

"Now that I think about it, you do look a lot like that violinist Wes." Making his way to the other side of the counter, the man folded his hands behind his back. "So, what are you looking for today, Mr...."

_'No duh, Sherlock. He's my brother.' _"Evans." No need to lie to the man. Though, he wasn't about to give out his full name. Attracting unwanted attention was the last thing he wanted to do. "I'm looking for something for a friend of mine."

"Ah. So part of the great Evans family. Alright, Mr. Evans, what did you have in mind for your friend? Silver? Gold? Diamond?" As he spoke the man took displays from the lit cases, setting necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and a mixture of all three on the counter top.

And Soul was in a state of complete unknowing. Silver. Gold. He knew it made a difference. Diamond was always a good factor. But what would Maka want? Probably something that accented that pathetically small chest of hers. So that narrowed it down to necklaces.

As if sensing his dilemma, as everyone knows salespeople are wolves when it comes to that, the worker lazily rested his elbows on the top of the counter and put his chin on his hands. "Is this for a girl? Maybe someone special to you?"

Why was everyone coming to that conclusion today?! Maka was nothing but a friend! That was it! "She's just a friend. Have anything less fancy?" And expensive. How did anyone expect any sane person to pay what they were asking for on these? Just the few the salesman had pulled out were more than any middle class working person could afford! Well, it wasn't like he should have expected anything less.

Soul waited as different, less fancy and pricey, things were brought to his attention. Nothing screamed out Maka to him. What he saw looked like it would be better off to an old married couple who were celebrating their 50th Anniversary or a newly web couple on their honeymoon. Nothing that he could hand to Maka. What was he going to say when he did? 'Hey, together we remind me of an old couple'? Yeah. That's not going to piss her off.

Maybe this wasn't the right store. Hell, what was he thinking? This WASN'T the right store. Not only that, but the guy behind the counter was really starting to freak him out. Soul remained cool and calm though. If it came down to it, he could easily take the guy and claim self defense when security arrived.

"Thanks, but I'll look elsewhere."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Evans."

If he had to hear that every store he went into, Soul was sure he would run his head into a wall. He had gotten enough of that during his childhood. He was just thankful the man didn't try to make him stay by pulling out more. Maybe he never truly believed Soul was part of the renowned musician family. Either way, it was a good thing for him.

Marching out of the store and back into the chaos of which was the mall, Soul tried to think of where the next nearest one was. He was not looking forward to it. But he had to. Sadly. Why couldn't Maka be like normal girls? And with that, he trudged his way down the halls and to the next store. If he had Black Star with him it would make this a whole lot more entertaining. Though, more trouble for him.

This trip was a lot like the first one. Soul was forced to use his family's name and they didn't have anything he was looking for. The people there weren't much help either. Was this going to happen everywhere he went? If so, he was not looking forward to the rest of the day. Soul might as well just had Blair some cash and tell her to go buy something for Maka from him.

Sighing as he left the second store of fail, Soul was beginning to wonder if this had even been a good idea. Jewelry. He had no idea what he was looking for. It wasn't like he could just give up either. Oh no. There was no way he was leaving here empty handed. He was going to get Maka the best damn gift she had ever received.

And that was when he walked into store number 3. Well, at least there was some diversity in staff this time. Not the same old, dressed up folks from the other two places he had stopped at. In fact, there was a lady behind the counter who didn't look more than a few years older than him. Fresh out of high school.

"Hey. Can I help you look for anything, or are you just browsing?" she asked, waving a hand in greeting.

Tired of having to repeat the same thing over and over again, Soul replied dully, "Something for a friend."

She perked up, coming out from behind the counter. "Really? Well, I guess I should have guessed. You wouldn't be here for your mother. Name's Danny. Got anything in mind or is this a search and rescue sort of mission?" A friendly smile crossed his face. Reminded of the incident earlier with the overly preppy cashier lady, Soul kept an eye open for any advancements by this one. But he didn't know how to answer her question. He had a very rough idea. Definitely a necklace, but nothing over the top expensive and fancy. Other than that, it was a complete shot in the dark.

Danny seemed to realize this from his hesitation, leaning against one of the cases. "What's she like? Maybe I can help."

"Who said it was a 'she'?"

"Really, kid. Who else would you be here for?" she answered back with a sly smile. "Now do you want some help or what? I go on break soon and I'm not waiting around for you to make up your mind."

He was stuck. It was as simple as that. He didn't get help, Soul would never know what to look for. And time was indeed running out for him. He sighed in defeat. "She's strict, harassing, small chested, and annoying."

"Anything else?"

Anything else? What was she expecting him to say? Confess his undying love and devotion to Maka? Like that would ever happen. "I guess she's pretty cool, understanding, and tough." He shrugged. Maka did have some redeeming qualities. She could cook and did do her best with the entire Kishin Eggs thing.

"You guess?" Danny laughed, moving behind the counter to get at the different displays. "Let's see what we have here." She pulled out a thin silver chain, on the end being a single diamond. "Simple, and not really flashy. If you go for anything for a girl, diamonds are always a good choice."

But it wasn't Maka. Sure, Liz might like it, but it was too simple. "It's not right."

She set it aside, going for something else. "Alright then! How about this? A 10 Karat Gold Figaro chain."

"To plain."

"Well, you're a bundle of fun to shop with." Danny set that aside as well, throwing her hands into the air. "I give. You're never going to find something that fits what you're looking for with me pulling things out. Though, I do have something else for you to look at real quick. Be back in a flash!" She slipped into the back room, reappearing a minute later with a small black box in hand. "'Kay! This is new to the store so it's not on display yet. I could get in trouble for showing you." Danny opened the lid to expose a thin gold chain with a charm nestled into the middle of a little cushion. "Well, what do you say? Is this what you're looking for or not?"

It was better than anything else he had seen so far, that was for sure. And it did seem like something Maka would wear. He just hoped she thought the same.

Now that that was finished Soul could finally concentrate on finding Black Star and keeping that idiot out of trouble. It was only a matter of time until he heard his name being called to come to the security office to pick up that headstrong friend of his. Not to mention if the girls heard it would be the most uncool thing to happen to him yet.

Glancing at a nearby clock, Soul groaned. Great. He was going to be late to meeting the two. Danny rang up the total, Soul paying with his family's money, and the box was slipped into a little bag for easy carrying convenience. Now he just had to find an escalator or staircase.

It was on the other side of the mall, unfortunately, that the mechanically moving stairs were located. However, the shop he was looking for was nearby. Black Star's blue hair was visible in the crowd walking to and fro and made an easy homing beacon for Soul to follow.

"You're late, Soul," Black Star grinned, giving his friend a high five. "Find something for Maka?"

Black Star was just not going to let him live that down! That one time! One!

Ignoring that last question, Soul took a glance around. It was only Black Star. Kid should have been here to. It had been a bit over an hour and usually one would think Kid being the most punctual. "Where's Kid?"

And where Soul thought Black Star would shrug it off and tell him dramatically what he had done for the past hour, he was wrong. The ninja pointed to the big name department store across the way where a dignified Kid was walking out, one bag in either hand. The shinigami blinked as he came nearer the two. "Oh, Soul! Did everything go well?"

"Yeah. What were you doing in there?"

"Liz wanted some new perfume and they carry it. But the display was all wrong! I had to make it perfectly symmetrical for them." Leave it to Kid. "I also ran into Tsubaki and Maka. They said to not worry about giving them a ride home. They'll manage."

And Black Star gave him the most Cheshire Cat grin Soul had ever seen him do. The brat had been waiting for something like this. Soul wasn't going to fall for it. If Maka said she could find her own way home it didn't mean she was going with some other guy. He would act cool about this. It wasn't like he could give her a ride back, not with all the bags. How were they going to get those back anyway?! There were quite a few bags the last time he checked. Enough to take up a few of the small locker spaces.

"Kid, what about all the bags?"

"We're taking half and the girls are taking half."

That made sense. Cut down on the load they would have to carry. But then came another question. How in the hell was Black Star getting back? And there was still another three hours to kill before they were to meet back up at Kid's place. Well, thinking about it now, that did give him time for a shower and a quick snack.

"If that's the case, I'm heading back home. I'll see you guys at Kid's place later." Soul had a key to one of the lockers. If he took the bags in that one then it could count as his share. Besides, his feet hurt and there was absolutely no way he was walking more.

"Later, Soul," Black Star voiced as Soul made his way back towards the escalator and to the food court where the lockers were. He was never agreeing to go to the mall with Maka again. Not after today's torture. He was glad when he got the bags he needed and walked out the doors to his waiting motorcycle. It was one step closer to home.

* * *

Note to self: Never type at 5 in the morning again. Characters tend to get a bit OOC.

Sorry to anyone who read this and was like 'WTF? That ain't Soul!' I've been up for 14 hours. It's 5 in the morning. My mind isn't exactly WORKING right now.

But! I want people's feedback. Was it good? Was there something you didn't like? What needs work? I like hearing comments like 'Good job.' or 'Keep it up' but that doesn't exactly help much in terms of trying to expand and improve. Get what I'm saying? lol. I shoudn't nit pick.

Yeeeaaap! Fear Danny for I have no clue what I was thinking when I tossed her in there. Be grateful I didn't keep the security idea. That would have made this even longer.


	4. Should Be Relaxing

A short almost filler chapter. Why almost? And why filter? Well because there's not a lot except for a few minor things relating to the plot and it's 3 pages shorter than my other chapters. So, yes, it is short, but I still like it. X3 Gives me a chance to try something a tad bit more serious.

Disclaimer: Don't own Soul Eater. I want a SE T-shirt though. It's only 65 bucks plus shipping.

* * *

Wind whipped him in the face as Soul made his way home on his motorcycle, the engine loud in his ears. Get home, get something to eat, take a shower. That was the next plan. Maybe not in that exact order, though. He was already close to home as it was. Soul hoped that Blair was off parading around as a cat instead of waiting to ambush him at home. He pulled into the garage of the building, knowing that today his luck wasn't that good. If anything the cat would be naked, dripping wet, and standing in front of the door waiting for him. And this time there was no Maka to save him. With this oddly depressing thought in mind, why it was depressing he was trying to figure out, Soul tromped his way up the flights of stairs to the floor his and Maka's apartment was on.

Bags dangling from his wrist once more, the weapon trudged down the halls, passing numerous other doors to get to the all too familiar one. He dug around in his pants pocket for the key, finding the evasive little piece of metal with a few minor difficulties. The key slid into the lock with ease. The bolt clicked and signaled the unlocking of the door. At least one thing was going right today.

Soul opened the door to the little place, bracing himself for the ambush by the witch. But it never came. He sighed in relief, dumping the bags on the kitchen table. Some peace and quiet. It was about time. After all that hustle and bustle down at the mall Soul was ready to enjoy every second of this peace, something that didn't happen often in the same household as Blair. And what a better time to spend this silence then taking a shower? Soul shed his black jacket, tossing it into his room, and grabbing a towel out of the hall closet. He would have the run of the house for a while yet. _Perfect._

And the bathroom was Blair free! He tossed the towel onto the counter, starting the shower. Making sure the temperature to the water was just right first, Soul then proceeded to strip, stepping under the shower head. Water drops pelted against his body in a rather soothing manner. Soul stood in the shower for a bit, just letting the water run over him, thinking. Why was what Black Star said getting the better of him? So he lived in the same house as her, big deal. Black Star lived in the same place as Tsubaki and that didn't mean anything. And it wasn't like they were here alone. Blair took up residence in the apartment too.

How much time passed before he finally washed his hair he didn't know, but Soul had yet to reach a conclusion on his thoughts. He turned the water off, stepping out of the shower and snatching up the awaiting towel. Soul took his time in towel drying himself off, slipping on some boxers of his. He would worry about getting fully dressed after he had a quick snack. It wasn't like he had to think hard on his outfit choice. A dark t-shirt, hoodie, some jeans and he could get away with the skater punk look. Sadly, he was sure he would have to leave his headband at home.

Wrapping the towel around his shoulders Soul exited the bathroom. The house was eerily quiet, more so than when he had first started his shower. Soul paused in the hallway, catching a glimpse of purple before he was attacked by the cat witch Blair, her arms wrapping around him and holding him close to her large sized chest. "Sooouuuullll!" she purred, rubbing her face on his still wet hair. Nose bleed was imminent. And right after his shower too. And this time there was no Maka to save him.

"Hm? Is Maka home?" Blair looked up, loosening her hold on the poor white haired boy. He would have to find his own way out of this, sadly. It wasn't that he didn't like Blair and her oddly soft assets, it was the fact that if Maka chose to walk through the door then and there, he was screwed. More than screwed he was six feet under with no gravestone. "Oooh, what's this?" The cat witch let go of Soul, leaving him standing there trying to figure out what had just happened in the past few moments. By the time he got his senses together Blair was at the table, holding up the little bag with Maka's present in it.

And his heart stopped. If Blair got a hold of that there was no telling _what_ she would do! "Blair! No!" He took a grab towards the bag, but the taller female kept it out of his reach, the old cat curiosity showing. "Give me the bag!" Soul growled. He didn't want to resort to violence, he really didn't. Especially not after the pain in the ass mission him and Maka had to go through because of the stupid feline only to end up back at square one. He lost every soul they had gathered, she lived at his house, she harassed him on a daily basis, and now Blair was pulling this! Soul jumped for the bag, only to have Blair turn to keep it out of his grasp. Sadly, grace was not with the boy and he tripped upon landing, tumbling into the kitchen.

And that was all the time Blair needed to get the box out of the bag.

Soul could only watch as she opened the little box, eyes going wide and a grin crossing her face. "Is this for Maka?" And there it was. The sly grin everyone seemed to be wearing today. "Blair knew it! You love her!" She still kept the little box in hand, even as Soul stood and tried to snatch it away once more.

"Do not! Now give it back!"

"Then why do you want it back so badly?" teased Blair. "Maybe Blair will just keep it."

This was getting irritating. He needed it back! That was Maka's necklace, dammit. "Maybe because I paid a lot of money for that!" Another futile attempt to get the precious jewelry back. Why did Blair have to be so friggin' tall?!

"You're own money? How _cool _of you, Soul."

That was it. He was going to get it back if it was the last thing he did! It may not be cool of him- like jumping around shouting had been?- but Blair could not keep that necklace! So, he decided to to something other than jump in circles, pulled along by a leash into Blair's little taunts. Soul would end this here and now. In a desperate attempt to get back what was his, Soul lunged once more for the little box in the cat's grip. However, luck had other ideas and he slipped on a rug, tripping right into Blair and sending both of them down to the ground. It worked in his favor, however.

Soul had landed on top of Blair, the cat on her stomach below him and holding the box out at arms length. "Give it to me, Blair!" he ordered, making sure to pin her there so she couldn't escape. Or not easily. What he didn't get is that she didn't even try to struggle.

"Nyaaa! Soul's hurting Blair!" she cried out.

"I am not. Just give me the box!" She let out another little moan.

And that was when Soul heard it. The dropping of bags and the contents within them as well as keys. He froze, having a horrifying feeling he knew what was behind him. His back was to the door and the only other person with keys besides him was-.

Slowly, he turned, half surprised to see Maka standing in the doorway with one hand still on the doorknob and her eyes latched into him. What got to him the most, what chilled him to the core, was the hurt, shock, and betrayal Maka allowed her eyes to give away. Not to mention the tears she was trying to hold back. She abruptly turned, taking off down the hall and leaving what she had dropped behind. What did Maka think they were doing?! Wait... Oh God no.

"Maka!" He scrambled off of Blair, not even giving the cat a look as he tore off after his meister. "Maka, it's not that! Will you wait?!" She didn't slow down, if anything Maka only increased her pace. Why wasn't she willing to listen? At least he was catching up.

She took a sharp turn and it wasn't until he ran face first into a thick door that Soul remembered that was where the stairwell was. By the force behind that door, Maka must have meant to slam it. His nose hurt. Ignoring that pain for now, he opened the door to the stairs, not surprised to see that Maka was no where to be seen. Hopefully she didn't do anything stupid. Soul couldn't chase after her right at that moment any more than he had already, as walking around in nothing but your boxers wasn't the best thing in the world to do.

"Not cool," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. This was not turning out to be a great day. Soul slowly made his way back to the apartment. He would have to make this up to Maka. Wait, why should he be the one to? _She's_ the one who got the wrong idea and didn't wait for an explanation. He had tried to tell her what was going on, but Maka wouldn't listen.

Soul shut the door behind him, going to pick up the towel that had fallen from his shoulders earlier in the mayhem and the collapsing on the couch. Blair, now in cat form and with the little black box held gingerly in her jaws, jumped up onto the seat next to him, setting the box down on his leg. "Blair didn't mean for it to end like that."

He could blame Blair, he had ever right to! If it hadn't been for her taking the bag none of this would have happened. But he looked down at the little box sitting on his leg and slouched lower on the couch, scratching at the very base of Blair's ears. Soul couldn't help but feel like this had been more his fault than anything.

"Blair will go find Maka!" The cat brightened up, tail flicking high in the air.

If that was the case he'd be stuck back in the silence of the home. Soul lifted himself off of the couch, settling on getting dressed and heading to Kid's house. At least there he would have something to do. His eyes traveled to the forgotten bags. Party supplies were spilling out of one, the other holding the logo of his favorite store. Well, he might as well get the bags away from the door and let Blair out while he was at it.

The purple cat was already ahead of him, waiting patiently at the door for Soul to open it and let her begin her search. Picking up the bags, Soul opened the door enough for Blair to squeeze out before closing it behind her. The party things were set right next to the bags he had brought home on the table, the other being brought with him into his room. Upon closer inspection of the clothing items, Soul only saw the hoodie and jeans. Maka must have put the tank top back. He dumped the bag's contents onto his bed before going over to his closet to find a shirt. That band T-shirt Black Star had gotten him for his birthday a few years back would work. He found it in the back behind a few other things he hadn't worn before. The tags were still on it.

Tags had to be ripped off of all three items of clothing before Soul could put them on. The T-shirt was a bit baggy, but that was to be expected. He snatched his keys and wallet from his other pants from earlier that day, slipping them into the pockets of the ones he was currently wearing. Pausing only to grab the bags that were needed and Maka's keys, Soul trudged out of the house, locking the door behind him. Hopefully she didn't come back to the house while he was gone.

Walking to the shinigami's house was on Soul's mind. It would give him time to think. Hopefully Maka would be willing to listen to Blair. If the cat ever found her, that is. Once again he hoped that she wouldn't do anything stupid.

* * *

And that, my friends, is the end of this chapter. I plan on skipping directly to when Soul's at Kid's house in the beginning of the next chapter because I'm running out of original and non overused thoughts for Soul to have in this story. Lol.

Oh! Before I forget! Go read Miki-chi's SE fic! It's a lot more awesome than this and twice as fun to read! Epic Black Star and Soul there is.


	5. Authors Note

I apologize for the delay in an update for this story. Things haven't exactly been going well and as far as I know I might be failing English. I have to talk to my teacher about that. So, my life's been pretty hectic with school, family matters, and lack of a way to really get on the internet.... slightly.

With a new laptop with wireless, I CAN get online every now and then with it, but there's rarely a good signal at my house at all and its on my little laptop that I mainly write. Yeah. Busy week has been busy. Not to mention what I DO have of chapter 5 I hate with a burning passion and plan on rewriting. Thankfully, its not much so it won't take me long.

So, yeah. There still might be a bit of a wait for chapter 5. I don't know exactly how long. Hopefully not much.


	6. Drama Street

OH MY GOD! Did she-?! Is it-?! Yes, my loyal readers, or those of you who are still following this story, it's the next chapter! Sorry it took SO LONG but my muse left on vacation without telling me and just recently came back. I didn't even get a souvenir. Talk about cheap. ANYWAY, I apologize for the length of time you were forced to wait and the crappiness of this chapter. I will make up for it in the next, and last chapter. Yes, that's right, the next chapter is the last. Can you believe it? Six chapters long! lol. This wasn't supposed to be a long story anyway.

But I've bored you long enough with this. ONWARDS WITH THIS!

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, sadly.

* * *

His walk there had helped little as his thoughts ran in circles. Over and over again Soul had tried to figure out his feelings for Maka. He had convinced himself that Black Star needed to shove his head in a blender, hit puree, and toss the mess that would be across a cow field for making him even question what he felt towards Maka. Of course he would never say that to the blue haired boy's face. No matter how much they may argue or get into their disagreements, Black Star was still his friend. Somehow. Which made this entire Maka thing ten times worse. She was his friend, his partner, his house mate, but was there something else too?

Soul sighed as he approached the large house which belonged to the shinigami of Death City. It wasn't a big surprise to find the structure symmetrical in every way possible. The tall building brought back memories of his past, making Soul feel rather under dressed in his hoodie and t-shirt. At least this was Kid's house and not the home of some snobby rich family his parents knew that would guilt trip him into playing a piano piece for them. At least he hoped his friends wouldn't.

He maneuvered up the front steps to the door, pressing the doorbell. Eight exactly alike tones followed, echoing around. A small smile crossed Soul's features. Leave it to Kid to have a doorbell with eight chimes in it. He probably installed the bell himself, making it symmetrical. Soul wouldn't put it past the shinigami. So, he waited.

And waited.

And waited a few more seconds, debating whether or not to ring the bell once more until the door opened to expose Death the Kid. The dark haired male stepped to the side, opening the door more to allow Soul room to get into the house. "Welcome, Soul."

"Hey, Soul!" Black Star came out of nowhere, tossing an arm around his friend's shoulders, all traces of the little spat they had at the mall earlier gone. "You're wearing that shirt I got you!"

Though Soul wasn't as quick to forget about the argument as Black Star, he wasn't in the mood to start another verbal war with the meister. He shrugged the friendly arm off of his shoulders, slinking farther into the house. Soul paused, looking over his shoulder at the two other guys. "Which room are we setting up in?" It was rare that they actually go over to Kid's house, his and Maka's apartment seemed to be the big hang out spot, and as such, the place was a giant maze to him.

Kid took the lead after that, taking a very direct way to wherever they were going, pointing out the symmetrical features of his house (such as the bathroom, entrance to the kitchen, and winding staircases leading to the next floor) as they passed said things. Eventually the trio reached two large double doors, one already open to expose the going ons inside. Patty's childish laughter and Liz shouting warnings to her younger sibling could easily he heard. Walking through that doorway and Soul swore he felt the atmosphere get thicker. The weapon stopped, looking over at the group of four girls working on setting up decorations of some sort. Maka had her back to him, but Liz was glaring bloody daggers in his direction.

"Soul, did something happen between you and Maka?" Kid asked, herding him and Black Star to the opposite side of the room to do God only knew what. Just that little question caught the ninja assassin's attention completely and that smirk was there, taunting and torturing Soul. Where Soul would have expected a teasing tone from Black Star, Kid asked the question in a sincere manner.

"No." Soul blinked at his friend, ignoring Black Star's kissy faces and taunts. The little runt could think what he wanted, but nothing _had_ happened. She had seen him and Blair fighting over the necklace in the living room and thought the wrong thing. That was it. It wasn't like he had been cheating at her.

Kid glanced over his shoulder at the girls. "She's glaring at you."

Following the shinigami's glance, Kid was right. Maka was glaring at him just as much as Liz was, if not more. The second she noticed he was looking, Maka stiffened up and turned her back to him. Liz gave him one last dirty look before moving over to Maka's side, whispering something into her ear before smiling. Maka laughed, meaning whatever they had said probably related to him. Tsubaki looked from Liz and Maka over to the group of guys and back again. Yep. It was probably about him.

"Maybe I was wrong," Black Star mused out loud. "Unless you two got in a giant fight! Go kiss and make up, Soul!" He grinned, shoving Soul towards the group of females, him stumbling and Black Star's loud voice echoing around the room. So, three of the girls turned and looked, a bit wide eyed and silent. Patty, on the other hand, bounded around them laughing and chanting, "Soul likes Maka!" The latter glared at Soul more.

He huffed and they both turned their backs on each other. Soul shoved his hands in his pockets, the usual slouch deepening. The bags hanging from his wrist bumped against his side. Oh yeah. In all of the drama that had been going on he had forgotten about the uncomfortable plastic. "Where do you want the bags?" the weapon asked the host of the entire thing. Kid motioned to the pile sitting near a long buffet table. Soul trudged over to the collection of bags, only slightly annoyed when Black Star followed. Hadn't he done enough damage as was?

"I don't get it," he heard Black Star mumble, one hand on the blue haired boy's chin in thought. "If you like Maka, then why haven't you said a word to her?"

"I don't _like_ her."

"But the signs are all there! You blushed when you came to meet us, bought her pizza, and you were denying it all! Everyone knows when you deny something it must be true! And what did you get her?! Huh, Soul!?! What did you get Maka? I bet it was expensive! Was it expensive?" Question after question was fired at Soul, most of it having to do with Maka and him. He ignored Black Star, he really tried to. Getting into a petty squabble wouldn't be cool.

Though, he couldn't help it. It had to snap _something_ back at the meister. "If you like Maka so much why don't _you_ date her?" Smooth, Soul. Real smooth.

No response came from Black Star, which suited Soul just fine. The ninja assassin could sit in stunned silence for the rest of the night. Soul had said what he had and he wasn't about to take it back. "Black Star! Come help us with the black lights!" Maka called from the female side of the room.

Black Star looked at Soul and smirked. "Maybe I will. You had your chance. She'll be lucky to have a guy like me to go out with." He puffed out his chest, fixing his friend with a cocky look.

"Hurry up, Black Star! We don't have all day!" This time it was Liz who called out.

Soul watched, sure that Black Star was going to push him over the edge tonight, as the shorter meister bounded off to help the girls. Fine. Black Star could do what he wanted. Maka and him weren't going out, so it would only be logical that someone else would ask her. Still, that annoying bubble of frustration rose in his gut at Black Star even thinking of asking Maka on a date. With a small huff, he turned his back on them, heading over to Kid to find out what he was supposed to do. It was her life. If she wanted to go out with a guy like Black Star, she could. _Why_ she would was beyond him.

A glance was cast over his shoulder. Black Star was talking to Maka, a curious, if not confused, expression on her face. That little bastard was actually doing it! Maka laughed and smiled. She _laughed_ and _smiled._ Something was not right. Maka? Smiling and laughing at something Black Star had said? ...Had she had a crush on him?! No. That couldn't be it. Of course it wasn't. A girl like Maka would never go for something like the annoying ninja. He knew he was only saying that to make himself feel better, but it made sense. Until he heard the all too familiar voice.

"Yahooo! Then it's a date!"

He froze. Never in a million years had he ever thought he would hear the word 'date' come out of Black Star's mouth. Or Maka agreeing to it! What was the world coming to?! Insanity must have overcome the school. It was the only option that made sense. But he wouldn't give them the pleasure of seeing him freak out. No. That was uncool. And would only lead to trouble. He would take this calmly and coolly. Ignore the two of them and do what he was here to do. He started this by taking a breath, no use getting worked up over it. "What do you need me to do?"

Kid looked up from the little notepad in hand, most likely a list of what needed to be done. "Liz, how many black lights do you need to install?" he questioned one of the sisters, looking her way.

"All but two," came the slightly irritated response. It appeared that the taller of the two pistols wasn't willing to cope with Black Star's excessive demands and bragging. It was only luckily for the blue haired meister that Tsubaki was there to calm him down or Black Star would have had to deal with Liz. And by the way she would cast dirty looks his way every now and then, he could take a wild guess and say all the anger and irritation she felt towards Black Star would be directed at him in the end. What had Maka told the other girls?!

"Hey! I'm doing my job! It's not my fault you guys are slow and can't keep up with the Great Me!" came Black Star's voice.

Soul sighed. Kid still hadn't answered his question. "Maka, do you want to help set up the food?" the shinigami asked, turning his attention to the demon scythe meister. Oh no. Kid really couldn't be thinking about leaving him and Maka alone to do something after all that happened! Well, Kid didn't know what happened, but should be able to guess from the looks he was getting that this was not the best idea in the world.

She blinked at Kid before her gaze landed on Soul, her expression hardening into a glare. "Fine. What do you need me to get from the kitchen?" Though she made her way over to them, Maka kept her distance from her weapon, focusing only on Kid and what he needed her to do. She couldn't go avoiding his existence forever. Eventually they would have to interact and it was that moment that Soul was not looking forward to. He could never bring himself to hurt Maka, physically or emotionally, not on purpose anyway, which left her to Maka Chop him to her heart's content. Now, that would be painful. And possibly leave a pool of blood and a dead body on Kid's hands.

The black haired meister scribbled something down on a blank sheet of paper, tore it out, and started writing again only to repeat the action over and over again. "Kid, just tell me what you need. I'll remember it," Maka stated, trying to help their friend.

Depressed, Kid listed off what was needed from the more than likely large kitchen. Chips, some beverages, the usual party things. There, there were also some things that only Kid would think of having. Random little hourdevours that probably no one would know the name of being just one example. Soul could have handled it himself, of that he was sure. Sure, it may have taken multiple trips, but he could have done it. And Black Star could help once he was done with the lights, so why had Kid picked Maka for this? Was he trying to get them to make up?

Soul almost face palmed at the thought. Almost. With a sideways glance cast in Maka's direction (she wasn't even looking at him) Soul sighed and turned to the exit, only pausing to make sure Maka was behind him. After all, he didn't know if she knew where the kitchen was. He could feel the eyes of the others on his back, the piercing glare of Liz, the worried glance of Tsubaki, even Black Star's stupid all knowing look.

And an uneasy silence fell over the two of them. Maka obviously wanted nothing to do with him, keeping her distance as well as her silence. It suited him quite fine. He hadn't done anything wrong in the first place. No. He had just tripped and fallen on top of Blair. There was nothing going on between the two. Why couldn't she see that? After all the other dumb things the cat had done, why would what had happened today be any different?

Leaving that subject behind, or as much as he could, Soul was glad he had semi-paid attention to the maze of halls Kid had led him down early, not like it had been that long ago. He paused outside of stainless steel doubled doors, glancing over his shoulder. Maka had stopped, but she still looked like she'd rather listen to Black Star than be here with him. "It's here." Yeah, like she needed him telling her that. Pushing the door open, he had to take a step back and watch as she stalked by him.

Right to the cupboards she went, pulling out the items Kid had asked for one by one slowly yet surely, having to back track and try to figure out what held what. With a feeling that this was not going to end well, Soul walked through the kitchen and to a large pantry door. "What else do we need to get?" he asked, looking inside at all the nonperishable food items.

There was a small pause and all the commotion in the cupboards had ceased. "Chips," she finally spoke up, with more force than neccisary he might add. "Eight bags." And it was right back to the silent treatment. He could hear the metallic thud of what he assumed were cans of different drinks. This would take forever if Maka didn't even want to talk to him. Should he try to explain it? Try to tell her what had really happened? Technically he couldn't without giving away her gift, and he couldn't exactly do that right now. If she didn't believe him, there was no telling what she would do to the necklace.

Still, he at least needed to try, right? Maybe come up with a way to explain it without bringing up the gift? Yeah, and how would he go about doing that? Replace it with something else? His hoodie? A can of pop? That was sure to get him everywhere. Please note the mental sarcasm in those few sentences. Then again, he didn't want Maka mad at him for the next month. Why did arguments have to be so complicated? He set down a few bags of chips on the counter.

She had pulled down a large bowl and was attempting to open a bag of chips when he chose to talk. "Maka, listen, I-"

The bag came tearing open, chips falling down around them on the floor and coutners, a few making it into the bowl, and surprisingly some staying in the bag. She dropped the bag into the bowl, slamming her hands down on the counter. "I don't care, Soul! I don't care about what you and Blair did in the living room earlier! I just want to get through the night without fighting." The chips left in the bag found themselves in the bowl when she picked up the ripped and torn shiny material by the corner, successfully emptying it out before snatching up a second bag to replace the spilled numbers of the first.

Despite her words, Maka was staring a fight and Soul was beginning to lose his patience with all this. More than once he had tried to explain to his meister what had happened so they wouldn't be in the very mess they were in now, with awkward silences, glares, and walking on glass for the next week. But if she didn't want to listen, didn't want to get his side of the story, then fine. Soul didn't have to put up with her nonsense.

He snatched up the now full bowl of chips and a tray of the little hourdevours, stalking his way to the exit of the large kitchen. Soul paused at the door, his shoulder pushing into the stainless steel just enough to open it up a bit. His red eyes glanced at Maka, his meister busying herself with arranging a plate of something. "We didn't _do_ anything, Maka. You can ask the cat herself." The scythe didn't wait to hear if she had responded or not, pushing his way out of the kitchen and into the maze of halls. Now if only he could get back without any problems.

The way back seemed shorter than the walk there had taken. Soul could hear Black Star's annoying voice bragging about the black lights. Oh great. He didn't want to have to deal with Black Star and his taunts about Maka. At least the latter was still in the kitchen and not here to have to be the one getting harassed. Soul didn't know which one was worse. Blair or Black Star. He shuddered to think of the two teaming up to make his life a living hell for the next few days. Entering the large party room Soul made a beeline right for the buffet table, ignoring Black Star's welcome back jibe about Maka and the kitchen. He set the plate of little snacks down first, then the bowl of chips, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the blue haired meister as his friend came to talk about one thing or another.

"So, did you two kiss and make up yet?" he pestered, taking a chip from the bowl and popping the defenseless snack into his mouth. Though it was an innocent enough question compared to what he could have asked, Soul stiffened up. He knew he couldn't take out his fight with Maka on Black Star, but most of it did have to do with what the meister had stated earlier. If it wasn't for what black Star had said earlier, he wouldnt have fretted over getting Maka a gift, and then none of what happened with Blair would have happened. As if seeing his dilema, Black Star grinned, thumping Soul on the back in what would have been a friendly gesture. "Cheer up, Soul! Maka will get over it." Black Star snatched up another chip.

"Yeah, if only it were that easy," Soul mumbled with a sigh, turning and leaning on the table, hands placed near the edge to help him keep his balance. "I don't know if shell let this go."

"What happened, anyway?" Another chip stolen from the bowl.

"Like hell if I know. Girls are complicated."

There was a pause of silence from Black Star. Over the time Soul had known the loudmouth, he had learned that silence from him was never a good thing. And he was proven right when the ninja assassin chose to open his mouth again, this time directing his comment to his weapon partner instead of his best friend. "Hey, Tsubaki, what's Maka angry about?"

Tsubaki looked over at them, at Liz and Patty, and then back at the two boys again. "Um..."

"If he doesn't know what he did, then Maka had every right to be angry," Liz interrupted, glaring at Soul. Why was half of the female number here at the moment out to get him?

Kid came to the rescue before a small spat could break out between them, as Black Star looked ready to defend Soul in this argument. "Black Star, you're still going to DJ, aren't you?" His yellow eyes turned on hyperactive one as he stepped between Liz and Black Star, blocking their way to one another.

Black Star turned his attention to this. "Yeah!"

"Black Star's DJing?" asked Soul, giving his friend an almost disbelieving look.

"What? Got a problem with that? I'm the best DJ there is!" Black Star struck a pose, puffing out his chest, and looking at Soul with that 'I'm the best there is' expression. Sadly, Soul didn't doubt that opinion when it came down to it. Black Star did seem like the type of person who would enjoy listening to punk or heavy metal music, a large difference compared to the more classical and jazz he listened to.

The weapon sighed once more, pushing off of the table and standing. "I should finish helping Maka with the food before she bites my head off." He started to make his way over to the door only to have Liz shoulder her way past him, blocking his way out of the door.

She still had that hateful look in her eye. "_I'll _finish helping Maka. You'll only make things worse. Come on, Tsubaki." While waiting for the black haired Tsubaki to catch up, Liz ignored him, leaving as soon as the female weapon had reached her. And that left the three guys with the energetic Patty. At least until she noticed her sister had left and bounded out to find the older Liz.

"Soul, if you're not going to go help them then help us!" called Black Star from where him and Kid were setting up. Only slightly annoyed that he couldn't explain his side of the story to any of the female gender, he went to go help the other two.

In a matter of hours, and the worst time in history for the white haired Soul, things were set up for the party. Maka had ignored him for the most part during this time, staying by the side of Tsubaki or Liz as they set up the long buffet table. Tsubaki seemed to be the only able that would willingly look at him besides Patty, but he doubted she even knew what was going on in the first place. The only way the girls even gave any recognition that he was there was when they had decided to test out the black lights, his hair being the largest glowing object in the room and the laughs they gotten from that.

Now, with everything set up to the best of their abilities, everyone was getting ready for the moment everyone else would start arriving. Maka, Liz, Tsubaki, and Patty had taken their things and left for Liz's room, choosing that as their changing destination. Kid had left Black Star to get ready in his own way, heading to his own room to prepare for the evening. This left Soul and Black Star the only two left in the room.

"Aren't you going to get ready?" he questioned Black Star, looking over at his friend.

"Of course," he huffed, going over to where the bags had been piled, pulling a duffle bag out from under the table. Unzipping the top, Black Star exposed what Soul could only guess to be a mess of clothes for wasn 't much of a variety of colors, black and a deep blue standing out.

And then a thought hit Soul. "Tell me you're changing somewhere else."

Black Star blinked at him in confusion before shrugging, grabbing the shoulder strap of the bag. "Well, if you're going to bitch about it." He left, leaving Soul alone in the oddly colored black-lit room until someone else returned.

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Right! There it was. Told you it was crappy. And like I said above, the next chapter WILL be better! And hopefully up a heck of a lot quicker. Yeeaah. REVIEW FOR THE LOVE OF MY SANITY! I love hearing from you guys, even if it is just a simple 'Good story.'


	7. The Ending Part 1

SORRY GUYS! this isn't even the entire last chapter. It's just the first part of it since I didn't want you to have to wait on me and my horrible slow tying. I'm without a computer at home as of now (laptop and desktop both refuse to work) so I'm stuck to limited time before and after school. I'll try to wrap up the last chapter quickly, there's only a few more things that need to be done to it, but I hope to have it out quick for you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater. Sadly. I wish I did, but I don't.

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In the few minutes he had to himself, Soul fell into one of the many chairs placed around circular tables outlining the room. He hated the fact that Maka thought he had done something with Blair, and the fact that she wouldn't listen to reasoning. Liz probably wasn't helping much at all when it came down to it. Well, he would give her some space now that he didn't _have_ to be forced into her company, give her some time to cool off and think about this rationally. And if that didn't work Soul vaguely wondered if Black Star would be able to restrain Maka while he forced her to listen. Though, that just might make her even more pissed off at him. Why did she have to be such a hotheaded girl when it came to him and the cat witch?

A slow moment passed, the silence stretching and making time seem to go on forever. Finally, though, his attention was drawn to the entrance and the sudden bounding appearance of Black Star, the ninja decked out in what he would be wearing for the rest of the night. He had ditched his usual shirt for a black tank top with no collar, the end of said shirt bunching around the waist band of the tripp pants he had slipped into. The pants looked a size to big, falling over his shoes. Blue stitching could be seen, adding a simple yet attention-grabbing look to it. And let's not forget the many blue painted chains that hung from them, clinking together every so often from the sudden jerky movements Black Star made. He had ditched his usual gloves for ones that looked like the fingers had been ripped off, a black spike collar around his neck and a studded band around his right wrist. It was a very Black Star look.

Soul didn't move from his spot as the chained meister made his way over to the table, tossing the duffle bag that, if anything, held the clothes he had worn that day onto one of the vacant chairs and plopping himself down in another.

"The girls aren't back yet?" he questioned, taking a glance around the empty room.

"What do you think? Girls take forever to get ready. They have to do their hair, make up, make sure everything's just right," grumbled Soul, slouching down in his seat. He glanced at Black Star, making sure that the other boy got the point of all that, that the girls wouldn't be down for some time.

"So uncool, right?" Black Star teased, getting a smirk from the lighter haired male. "So, are you going to dance with Maka, Soul?" That annoying grin from this morning was back, a sly look visible in the ninja's eyes.

While Soul had never thought Black Star had forgotten about what had happened earlier at the food court, he hadn't been expecting that question of all things to come from the loudmouth. "Are you doing to dance with Tsubaki?" he retorted with a snort.

This was greeted with a bark of a laugh. "I have to DJ, remember? If I'm not there to play the songs, then what will people dance to?"

Soul resisted the urge to mumble a small 'real music'. Having grown up with more classical and jazz music, they had always been his favorites, and having not listened to much of the heavy bass-filled music over the years didn't help much either. So, instead, he settled on a small shrug, turning his eyes to the open doors. The sooner everyone got back, the sooner they could start this, and the sooner it would end. Don't get him wrong, Soul enjoyed hanging out with his friends; it was everything going on with Maka he didn't want to have to deal with.

A moment of silence descended between the two. Soul didn't mind, though it was odd for Black Star to be this silent for this length of time. It was only when girlish giggling echoed from the hallway that the silence was broken. Both boys turned to look at the doors, recognizing the voices. Sure enough, Tsubaki and Maka made their way into the room, chatting to each other about something or other. And while Maka was ignoring him to the best of her ability, which was actually quite well, Soul couldn't help but stare.

She seemed to have taken whatever advice Kim and Jackie had given her at the mall. Maka had decided to wear a tight black T-shirt showing off just the right curves and almost making her seem a bit larger in the chest area, though he was sure it was just his imagination. The shirt ended just above her stomach in a ripped fashion. The same black choker from earlier was there, complimented by a black band over each wrist. And as his eyes traveled down he took notice of the dark blue jeans stretched tight over her legs. His gaze finally traveled back up, ending on her hair, pulled back into one high placed pony. Soul thought he saw faint traces of mascara and eyeliner, but it could have been a trick of the light.

He leaned closer to Black Star, ready to ask his best friend if he saw the same Maka he did, but the other boy wasn't paying any attention to him. In fact, if Soul followed the way Black Star was looking, the ninja was staring at his own partner. Soul smirked at this. If Tsubaki was trying to catch her meister's attention it sure had worked.

The ninja weapon wore something almost similar to what Maka was. A tight black shirt, the sleeves made of pure fishnet, ended just above her stomach, the few inches that were exposed also covered in the dark net. Around her neck was a studded choker similar to Black Star's, a similar band on her left wrist, mirroring the blue haired ninja's own accessory choice. Either Tsubaki had helped Black Star pick out the outfit or he had forced her to wear them. A small leather jacket went over the shirt. And for pants, well Soul didn't exactly want to think much on the matter, but Tsubaki had somehow slipped into leather pants. A chain belt completed the ensemble. She was sure to get a lot of looks tonight.

"You're drooling, Black Star," chuckled the white haired weapon, turning his attention back to Maka.

"You're one to talk. You can't take your eyes off of Maka!"

If he had a retort to that, he would have said it. Soul hated to admit it, but Black Star was right. Seeing Maka dressed like that was, well to put it simply, almost hypnotic. It was so different from the usual Maka, the goody-goody, know-it-all student! The tight shirt, the fishnet, was this really his meister?

She turned and glared at him before sticking her nose in the air and turning her back to him.

Yep. It was the same Maka. At least that shirt hadn't cut off the circulation to her head. He let out a sigh of relief that she was still herself, even in the outfit. Though there was still the issue of her not talking to him to deal with. She had to have picked that out jut to torture him. There was no other explanation. None other than Kim and Jackie had turned her against him. This was definitely going to be a long night.

"Holy hell! Is that Maka?!" yelped Black Star, finally noticing the other meister. "She looks like a girl!"

Soul nearly face palmed for a second time that night. "Smooth, Black Star." The worst part was Maka had heard the other male. At least her anger was directed at someone other than him now.

Glancing at his meister, Soul could tell she was furious. Her eyes went from Black Star to him and back again, as if trying to decide which one of them to hate more. Her fingers were twitching, itching to close themselves around a throat or the thick binding of a book. As long as he wasn't the one getting abused, she could think all the gory thoughts she wanted. Tsubaki rested a hand on her shoulder and his red eyes watched as the taller girl steered Maka away from them. Though that didn't stop Maka from snatching up the nearest thing (which ended up being a red glow stick Patty had taken out of the package and hadn't snapped into life yet) and chucking it at the ninja's head.

It smacked into the star-shape of Black Star's hair, the momentum keeping it traveling forward. The weapon caught it, slipping one finger into the loop of cord and letting the object dangle from there, watching it swing back and fourth. "At least her aim has improved," he mused with a shrug, draping the glow stick around his neck. Black Star didn't look thrilled that he had been used as target practice, glaring at Maka from over his shoulder. "Shouldn't you be DJing?"

"I need to ask Kid something," he mumbled in reply.

"And knowing him he won't be for a while. It's probably where Liz and Patty are." Soul pushed on one of the legs of the chair Black Star was sitting on, trying to get his best friend up and doing his job. Everyone else would start arriving soon and it would help the mood if the music was playing before then. "People will think you even greater if you do."

The chair flew back and Black Star was up on his feet in a heart beat. "Yahooo! Let's get this party started!" He bounded over to where the equipment had been set up, pulling some headphones around his neck. Whether they were for show or not Soul didn't care. The sound of the speakers being turned on, the adjustment of the volume, all this signaled the beginning of loud and bass-filled music.

And then there was sudden sound, just not what anyone was expecting.

_I am a superstar with a big, big house and a big, big car_

_I am a superstar and I don't care who you are_

The sound ended abruptly. Soul's eyes widened at his best friend, a small smirk playing across his face. Even the girls stopped their chitchat, turning their attention to the silent and almost embarrassed looking Black Star. An awkward silence had descended. Soul caught Black Star's eyes looking from the girls to him, waiting for some sort of smart comment to come, questioning his taste in music. None came and the meister quickly changed the song, starting up a interesting instrumental to adjust the levels. As the ninja assassin messed with the sound Soul could feel the difference in the bass vibrating through the floor. Before he knew it the weapon was keeping time, fingers tapping against the top of the table.

Kid made an appearance then, whining about something to his two weapons. Liz's reprimanding voice and Patty's laughter echoed around the shinigami's. The girls were dragging Kid into the room. "It's fine, Kid!" Liz stated. "No one's going to think you less of a man just because your pants aren't symmetrical!" You could hear the irritation at what would normally be considered a very idiotic thing. If it wasn't Kid whining about it, that was.

"Yeah, Kid. I already think of you less than me. Can't get much lower than that."

"Black Star!" Tsubaki yelped, her voice taking on a higher pitch than usual. Her hand went to her mouth, shoulder shaking with held in laughs.

Their voices were nearly drowned out by the loud beat of the music. Soul didn't see what the big deal was. Kid was wearing white tripp pants with darker parts that looked as symmetrical as pants could get, a white hooded vest, left open, over a black T-shirt completing the upper half of the outfit. His usual rings were still in position on his fingers, the only accessories that Kid was even wearing. Liz must have picked out his outfit, or had some hand in choosing since he was making such a big fuss over such a small ordeal. Then again, this was Kid.

Patty had the simplest outfit imaginable on. A dark colored band T-shirt completely covered most of her body, large and quite baggy, while a simple pair of baggy dark blue jeans completed the ensemble. No accessories, no make up, just the shirt and pants. Her simple outfit didn't do anything to stop her personality or antics. Patty was just as energetic as ever, listening more to the music than her own sister or meister.

Her sister wore something else completely compared to the other girls. Liz had chosen a grey baby tee, darker hued skulls scattered throughout the fabric. A short red plaid skirt hovered over black leggings. Besides the clothes, Soul could see earrings of some sort dangling from her ears. There was traces of make up on Liz, but nothing Soul cared to pay attention to. It was lucky for Black Star that Liz hadn't been present during that little... music episode. The older sister turned her attention away from trying to talk sense into Kid and onto the two other girls trying to hold in their laughter.

Soul rolled his eyes but that smirk didn't disappear. Black Star was glaring at him, he could tell, but instead of starting something the meister went back to his job, more than likely plotting some sort of revenge. With a shrug he focused in on the beat vibrating through the floor, subconsciously following the heavy beat. Kid and the sisters had slipped off. Probably going to greet the other guests. Oh well. He was perfectly fine keeping the table for the others. The girls were plotting against him which meant no time on the dance floor for lucky him. It was probably the only good thing that came from this misunderstanding between Maka and him.

Only a few minutes passed, the ninja assassin doing well with adjusting the levels to fit new songs and keeping the bass at a relatively good point. It was hard to hear anyone else over the music, but it was obvious when people started coming, the background noise growing ever steadily. Soul opened one lazy red eye, glancing at the groups of friends when they meandered into the large room, decked out in multiple different punk themed outfits. The weapon picked out people he knew from school: Kim and Jackie, Ox and Harvar, Kilik and the Twins, Hiro. There were even some people from the other classes present. Age, class, none of it mattered as the teens mixed and mingled among one another. Though, Soul couldn't help but notice that Kim and her weapon partner had migrated over to Maka and Tsubaki, much to Ox's displeasure.

He slouched down in the chair, only adjusting himself slightly when his lower back popped, slipping into a more comfortable position. Would giving Maka her gift help any? Soul glanced at the group of bags by the buffet table. One of them held the little black bag from the jewelry store. giving it to her might help, and he could explain what really had gone on in the living room. Just because he was in his boxers and had been wet from his shower didn't mean Blair and him had been doing anything! How Maka could even _think_ such a thought was beyond him! It was absurd! He didn't like the cat, he liked her!

Every thought, every little gear in his head came to a screeching halt. He liked... Uh uh, no way, absolutely not! There was no way! All the evidence Black Star kept shoving in his face, the comments people said to him and her, his thoughts, they had to be wrong! Had to be! Maka was just a friend, just a partner, just a roommate! She wasn't cute or adorable when she pouted, she couldn't make him smile at all the stupid little things she did, and he definitely didn't stay by her side no matter what she did.

And there went the hamster and the wheel. Something clicked in his mind right then, something no sane human being should ever have to say:

Black Star had been right.

With a groan he sunk deeper into the seat, not quite sure if he should trust his mind on the matter. So he liked Maka, big deal. It wouldn't change a thing between them. She was still a stubborn bookworm and he was still a cool guy. And cool guys admitted their feelings. Well, he had admitted them to himself, that had to count for something. Maka would probably laugh at him the second she found out. Well_ that _was a comforting thought.

While he was worrying about that thought the night passed slowly. Few people had objections to Black Star's choice in music, the girl's hadn't started a sudden attack on his person, and he had succeeded in giving Maka some breathing room. He searched the room for his meister, finding it hard to pick her out in the mess of dark colors. What wasn't hard to pick out of the crowd was the series of green, red, and yellow glow sticks bouncing up and down with the jumpy movements of a pack of girls. And there was Maka, with her little posse. An inward groan. Great. She would never leave them.

In a wonderful twist of ugly fate, she smiled and voiced something to the others, breaking away from the horde and weaving her way through the crowds. Beads of sweat decorated the skin of her face and neck, the switching neon colors dancing across her- Whoa! Stop there, Soul! Not time to be thinking about stuff like that! The weapon tracked her movement through the many dancing teens, replying to small greetings and giving small waves to people she knew. She moved out of the main room and to a balcony overlooking part of the city.

After a short pause, wondering if it was worth it or not, Soul straightened up, pushing the chair back as he stood with a grunt. It was now or never to make up with her. To the buffet table he went, picking up the little black bag and a glass of water. He could only reason that she went out there to cool off. Soul was doing just fine in his trek to the balcony, until he got to the large set of open French doors and hesitated. She was leaning against the railing, head craned to the side and angled upwards.

She didn't notice he was there, off in her own little world. He sighed, visibly relaxing. Soul walked over next to her, leaning on the barrier. "Stupid girl," he muttered, poking her in the side. "You're leaving yourself wide open."

Maka jumped, a small squeak coming from her before a flush of red covered her cheeks. She looked away from him with a huff, stiffening. "What do you want, Soul?"

It was now or never, Soul. Give her the gift and get it over with. Taking a breath to calm himself, the white haired boy held the bag out to his female friend. "Here." She blinked at the bag then at him, not quite sure what had just happened. "Do you want it or not?"

Just that snapped her out of her daze. Maka took the bag, only barely peering inside of it. "You shouldn't have" A small pause as she pulled the little box from it.. "Was it expensive?" Now she fixed him with a questioning look, pausing in her opening of the little box.

He should have expected something like that. Soul ran a hand through his hair, switching his weight to one leg and looking out at the city. "Don't worry about that. It's fine. Just open it." Never would he be able to tell her he had used an account set up for emergencies by his family. Just buying that was assuring a phone call from his brother. A sideways glance was cast at his meister when she opened the box. A smile appeared when her eyes lit up, one hand going to gently lift the chain and charm from its container. Dangling at the end of the gold chain was a small scythe decorated with stones of different colors.

Her excitement faded once more. "How much?"

"I said don't worry about it."

"How much, Soul?"

There was that demanding tone. He sighed, not able to meet her eye. "Roughly.... 5."

"Thousand?!"

"Hundred."

A pause and she looked back at the gift, mouth opening but no words coming from the light haired girl. This process was repeated a few times before she looked at him like he was insane. "Soul! How could-? We don't have that kind of money!"

What part of 'Don't worry about it' did the girl not understand? "Listen, I didn't use any money that we needed. I..." Crap. He didn't want to tell Maka about the bank account but he didn't want to lie to her either. "I used a family account. It's not much and they won't worry. So just accept the stupid thing." He turned away with a grumble, not expecting what was coming next.

Maka wrapped her arms around him in a big hug, seeming to nuzzle her face into the sleeve of his hoodie. "Thanks. It's beautiful. Now don't ever buy anything this expensive ever again." She released Soul from the hug, their apparent fight from earlier forgotten. The meister undid the clasp, brushing her hair out of the way. She fumbled with getting it around her neck, the little piece of metal holding the clasp open slipping out of her grip before she could get the other end of the chain in.

Soul sighed, smiling a bit at her trouble. "Here. Let me help." He took the two ends in his own hands, stepping behind Maka to see better. The two golden ends slid together and the chain fell onto Maka's skin. He stayed where he was, even as she turned around suddenly. Soul took a sharp breath when he realized that his face was dangerously close to his meister's. A red tint crawled along her cheeks and a smirk drifted across his face. His heart was pounding, beating against his rib cage in a rapid manner, but that didn't mean he couldn't act like it was nothing.

She was the one who looked away, pressing her back against the fancy railing. "Soul... I... got something for you, too."

He had managed to make her flustered. That was a comforting thought. The weapon backed down, lifting a brow at the girl before him. "Oh really? And what would that be?"

"If you'd move, I'd go get it." Maka poked Soul in the chest, huffing a bit. That red blush was still there, even if she tried to act like nothing was wrong, act like they just hadn't been centimeters away from.... Soul's mind stopped there, unable to fully process just what they had been about to do.

The boy took a step back, giving his meister some breathing room, that smirk still there. She was so much fun to tease at times.

"And don't think this gets you out of trouble."

And then there were times when she could get him right back. He sighed, trailing after Maka, hands stuffed back into those pockets. The room was warm from the many bodies moving to the beat of the music. The constantly changing lights didn't help the situation at all. Glancing up at the spot Black Star had been at since the beginning of this party, Soul saw it empty. Where had the little twerp run off to this time? Oh well. The scythe was slightly glad that the other meister wasn't around to witness the new piece of jewelry Maka wore or the fact that they had slightly made up. It would only lead to another string of taunts.

Maka led him through the dance floor, heading towards where a large group of people had stopped to watch something. While she wove her way towards the tall form of Liz, Soul hung back around the outskirts. Streaks of neon colors arced over the top of the crowd, and a smirk pulled across over his features. Well, now he knew where Black Star had gone. Glow Sticking in the middle of his job. Only Black Star could get away with sending the glow sticks so close to people's faces without actually hitting them. Soul shook his head, scanning the crowd for his light haired partner.

There she was, next to Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki. Liz was still shooting him a glare. Whether or not it was for the same reason as before was a mystery to the white-haired boy. Either way, it made no difference, as long as Maka was willing to forgive and forget for the moment. And it seemed she had since, with a embarrassed smile she was asking questions the girls had about the sudden new piece of jewelry.

"Soul did _what_?!" Liz's voice rang out. Luckily not many people heard, though Tsubaki's head shot up and she turned her gaze to him. Okay, so Maka just told them who had gotten her that little gift. It was hard to stop the smirk that was threatening to show. It wouldn't help him any with Liz if he got her even more riled up. So, he shrugged, finding that to be the most neutral gesture he could think of.

Maka wormed her way back towards him, having to shout over all the noise. "Wait here. I'll be right back. Don't do anything Black Star would do."

Again with treating him like he was some sort of young kid needed to be watched. Soul rolled his eyes, that smirk he had been trying to hide showing now. "Yes, mother," he grumbled playfully.

She gave him a look before turning and walking off to meet the other girls at the doors. And now with Maka gone it was back to boredom. With a small sigh he turned back to the group gathered around what could only be Black Star. Music still went in the background, people who either didn't know about the little show happening or just didn't care dancing to the beat. Soul was considering heading back to the table he had abandoned earlier, wait for Maka to reappear there. It would get him off of the mess of a dance floor. Already he was beginning to feel the heat generated by the many moving bodies, and he hadn't even been standing there for that long!

* * *

Kudos if you know what the song stated above is. Oh. I don't own that either. That belongs to Toybox.

And here is the first part. Sorry it's not the entire thing and sorry if any characters sound OOC. Well I'm just apologizing a lot, aren't I? Aaaanyway, yeah. Here ya go. Another chapter closer to the end of Partner Appreciation Day. I'm going to miss this story. *sniff* But I have another one planned! A... rather sappy-ish story...maybe... It could get violent.

ENJOY.


	8. The End

What? WHAT?!

Yeah, it's the end. :3 This has been fun, and getting all your reviews really made writing this a fun experience. There's not as much romance as I first intended, but I like it, and I hope you guys do too!

* * *

Maneuvering himself past the constantly moving teenagers and back to his little safe haven, Soul took the same seat he had earlier. One arm rested on the top of the table as he sat sideways in the chair, back resting against the wall. He had a clear view of the door and the dance floor now. His gaze flickered back to the group gathered around his best friend. Black Star was really soaking up the attention by the look of things. Green, blue, and red all arced through the air, leaving colorful trails behind. The glow sticks were swung in interesting patterns and in a way only someone who had experience with wielding a kusarigama could.

Still, eyes rolled. Black Star would take any oppertunity given to him to get the attention of his peers. A few friends who knew the blue haired boy were hanging back, laughing and shaking their heads at the display the ninja was putting on. Soul had to agree. The sight was something everyone should have expected to happen. He shifted on the seat, looking down in confusion when something bumped against his arm.

It was the red glowstick. He had forgotten all about it. Soul lifted it to eye level by the black string around his neck, letting the object twist and turn from the momentum. Taking one end in each hand he snapped it into life, giving the stick a good shake to get the light going. It dropped back to the end of the cord, dangling and giving his clothes a nice red tint to them. At least the light didnt reach his hair. It was bad enough that the black lights made him a walking lightbulb with his white hair.

With a small sigh he slouched farther down into the chair, feeling the irritating rub of shirt fabric against his back. How long was Maka going to be? He was pretty sure he had been sitting here for at least three minutes. Sure, Kid's house was a mansion, but that didn't mean it took five minutes to get to any room in the place. An exasperated sigh left the boy and he ran a hand through his hair. Parties like this, with large groups, had never been his forte, and Maka knew that. Dance floors, mingling with people he only saw in the hall and classroom while acting like he knew them, that wasn't why he had chosen to come to this city. In fact, it was nearly for those reasons that he left the boring and dull life of being a pianist behind him.

A lazy glance was cast at the door. "Come on, Maka," grumbled Soul. The longer she was gone the more he was likely to get dragged into something by someone else. That someone else more than likely going to be his energetic best friend. It didn't comfort Soul any when an applause sounded and the flashing neon colored lights stopped whipping by his peripheral vision. Great. Hopefully Black Star just went back to DJing and left him alone. "Hurry up."

Luck seemed to be on the light-haired male's side. His friend didn't see him at the table, trotting right back over to his spot there the ending notes of a song drifted through the speakers. Soul released a breath he hadn't even realized had been locked inside his lungs. As long as Black Star didn't see Maka or him and start his obnoxious bragging about how he had been right, then the night could end on a wonderful note. If Black Star, by some miracle, was paying attention and caught Maka and him together then there would be no end to the ninja's loud voice. And who knew? Black Star might even take it farther and announce something over the speakers for everyone to hear. His forehead met the table at that thought.

Lifting his head just enough to rest his chin on the flat surface, the scythe took another glance at the man doors. Still nothing. Maybe Liz was giving her a lecture about him. Maybe Tsubaki was asking question after question. Maybe they had gotten lost. After a short pause he couldn't help but wonder if he should try to go find the girls. Maka had told him to stay there, but there wasn't much of anything for him to _do_ here. Parties had never agreed with Soul, and with Black Star running the music and the rest of the usual people he talked to out doing god only knew what. It was the first time the weapon had realized that he hadn't seen Kid since before this entire thing started. With all the white the Shinigami was wearing you would think he would stick out more so than Soul. Either Kid was doing a good job of staying hidden or had retreated to some other part of the mansion in a symmertical emergency.

A sigh mixed with a huff forced his shoulders up and then back down, a few tense muscles along his upper back loosening a tad. Why couldn't things just ever be simple for him? It would have been so much more relaxing and easier if no one had mentioned this 'Partner Appreciation Day' or whatever, if no one had told him that a gift was basically nessicary, if this entire damn day hadn't started. Then again, he would have never been able to admit to himself that, yes, he did indeed like Maka more than a friend, and he would have never found that necklace. Did the pros to today outweigh the cons?

The arrival of a hand on his shoulder snappd Soul out of his thoughts. He glanced up at the familiar face of Tsubaki, blinking in mild surprise. "Maka's waiting outside."

More confusion. "Why is she outside?" Tsubaki didn't say, just smiled her usual smile. A pause, and one thought hit him. "She's not embarrassed, is she?" The taller girl just shrugged, obviously sworn to secretcy. Soul rolled his eyes, not beliving that his meister couldn't just give him what she had to at the table. It wasn't like anyone was paying attention to them. He glanced over at where his friend was, having to keep himself from letting his head hit the surface of the table. Black Star was giving him that annoying smug smirk. Okay, so the loudest mouth in school was paying attention.

With a small groan he stood, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets. Mumbling a small thanks to Tsubaki, Soul trudged towards the open double doors. Being made to always come to her like a dog, it wasn't cool, but he couldn't really complain either. Seeing Maka embarrassed was always a fun moment of time. She always got all flustered. The boy smirked and shook his head, pausing at the doors to let two others enter the room before slipping out. He spotted Maka not that far from the doors and switched direction to her.

"Well? What did you get me?"

She glanced at him, a blush obvious on her cheeks. "H-here." Maka held out a bag towards him, turning away like she couldn't bear looking at him.

Soul blinked, smiled, and took the bag. Glancing inside, the first thing the scythe spotted was the cover art of a record he had been looking at buying for a while now. He hadn't told anyone that he wanted the record, planning on buying it himself once he could afford it. "Thanks, Maka!" Shifting the open bag caused the record to shift position, revealing something else. "...Sheet music?" he question, looking at Maka with a raised brow.

The girl didn't look at him, but she did shift uncomfortably under his gaze. "Y-yeah, well...."

"Maka-" Soul sighed, running a hand through his spiked hair. He didn't know what to say. She knew that he didn't exactly like to play the piano and he didn't play many full songs on his guitar. She glanced up at him, head bowed, and an almost puppy dog look to her green eyes. Though the sheet music left him feeling a tad bit uncomfortable, Soul sighed once more, another smile crossing his face. "Thanks."

Maka looked a bit better at that, but the blush was still there. "It didn't cost nearly as much as the necklace you got me, but I've seen you looking at that record for a while now." The meister looked tired, tense and half there mentally.

Soul closed the bag, letting it hang from his left wrist. "Let's head home." Maka looked up at him in surprise, opening her mouth to say something only to have him interrupt her. "If we stay here Black Star's only going to make fun of me and you look exhausted." He wouldn't be surprised if she had worn herself down by walking around the mall only to have to come here to set up decorations. He felt fine, but he also had time to relax. Who knew if Maka had even gotten a break.

Surprisingly, she didn't put up a fight, just nodded and asked, "What would Black Star make fun of you for?" There was a questioning look there, and an accusing one as well. He hadn't done anything bad, dangit, but Black Star had been right about his feelings, and the ninja assassin would be sure to rub it in his face that he had been right.

"Nothing important. Let's just go."

Another nod. She started to lead the way through the maze of a masion. "I'll have to get my clothes." Maka didn't wait for Soul to say anything, heading towards what could only be Liz's bedroom. Soul hung back and waited, knowing that him taking a step into the elder girl's room would be like breaking some unspoken law. Kid probably barely got away with going in there.

She was back out in a matter of a few seconds. This time she didn't take the lead, falling into step beside Soul instead. The two made it out of Kid's home, heading down the streets towards their own apartment. Maka was slowly falling behind, staring at the ground a few feet in front of her. Soul had to pause and wait for her every so often, and the pace just kept getting slower and slower. What time was it? Night had fallen, and the moon was high overhead. It had to be late.

He waited for Maka to catch up once more before crouching down in front of her with his back facing the tired girl. "Get on," he intstructed.

His meister blinked. "I can walk on my own just fine, Soul," she huffed, her pride taking over her mind for that moment.

"You can't walk a straight line."

Though she looked like she would have liked to argue, Maka did what she was told and climbed onto Soul's back. She was pouting, that much was sure with the way she huffed. Meanwhile, he hooked his arms around her legs, carrying the girl in a piggyback. It would make getting home a quicker process, and a silent one as well. With her pride wounded, Maka didn't say much throughout the walk, though she did rest her head on his shoulder, exhaustion taking over.

It wasn't until they were almost home that she said something. "You wouldn't... do anything with Blair, right?"

He wasn't as shocked to hear that as he thought he would be, only lifting his head up a bit and looking at her earthened colored hair from the corner of his eye. "Of course not. I don't like Blair that way. Besides, she's a cat. It's illegal."

"...Promise?"

"What's with the promise? You don't trust me?"

"Just promise me you won't."

"Fine. I promise."

"Kay." She snuggled into his shoulder, body relaxing. Soul had no idea what was with that random little question and promise just then, but it didn't matter. Maka wouldn't tell him, anyway, so there was no point in pressing the matter. Besides, she was tired. That was bound to make her more irritable than usual.

So, he just kept on walking, getting to the apartment complex with a little feeling still in his arms and his back aching like never before. Though, the boy paused in front of the door, wondering just how he was going to open it. Maka seemed to have fallen asleep, her breathing light. "How am I...?" Well, this wasn't good. He couldn't open the door without waking up Maka, and definitely didn't want to do that. Maybe Blair was home. Kicking the door seemed like a swell idea.

The door opened just as the 'kicking the door' thought came to him. Blair was standing there, looking surprised and relieved at the same time. "Soul!" She didn't attack him, just stepped aside to let him into the house. Oh thank God Blair had the smarts to not smother him at the moment. "So? Did you and Maka make up?"

"Not now, Blair." In truth, he didn't know himself. She had seemed to be in a better mood when they had left, but there was no knowing until she woke up tomorrow morning. Passing by the cat he made his way into Maka's room, setting the girl on her bed. She didn't seem to want to let go of his neck, keeping her fingers locked together. Soul sighed, letting his forehead press against hers and a small smirk tug at his lips before he lightly brushed them against the girl's forehead. "Idiot girl," he murmered, having to reach up and pull her hands apart. Maka just rolled over, clutching her pillow.

Soul stood, rolling his sore shoulders and turning to leave the room. "Night, Maka."

"Soul, you promised," came the low statement from the girl curled up on the bed.

"Good _night,_ Maka."


End file.
